Diamond/Grove area gets new $120M health centre

Nov 04, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – The Diamond/Grove area on the East Bank of Demerara (EBD) has been boosted with a brand new $120 million health centre.

Commissioning the newly constructed building on Thursday was Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, Minister of Local Government, Anand Persaud, and the Regional Health Officer, Dr. Gavinash Persaud.

The health centre will cater for over 40,000 residents in the Diamond/Grove area and its surrounding communities. In his remarks at the commissioning ceremony, Anthony said the health facility would offer services such as mother-to-child care, antenatal services, general services for adults and children, care for chronic diseases, and asthma patient management. He further stated that with the ministry’s efforts to implement new guidelines for chronic diseases, the Diamond Health Centre would soon be capable of providing specialised diabetic treatment, along with educational and nutritional counselling.

The new Diamond Health Centre which was commissioned on Thursday.

“One of the things we’ve been doing is trying to establish new guidelines in the treatment of some of these chronic diseases. For example, for diabetes, we have shifted to using HBA1c as the standard test for our diabetic patients. I think later on, one of the other things we’d like to do, depending on the number of diabetics we are seeing on the East Bank, is to set up some specialised diabetic treatment; we can even establish foot care clinics and provide nutrition counselling. I hope that this health centre will be able to conduct a lot more educational talks, counsel people, and explain some of the things so that we can encourage people to adopt a healthier lifestyle”, he related.

At the ceremony it was mentioned that very soon, the centre would soon be equipped with the necessary facilities to conduct pap smear screenings, basic lab tests, and dentistry.

Concluding his address, the Health Minister had stated also that applications for the Nursing Assistant Programme would open very soon, and the Ministry aims to register 1000 people and commence training in January 2024.

This programme is said to last for one year and will be conducted through a hybrid approach encompassing both virtual-online and practical sessions. Those who succeed, Kaieteur News understands, will receive a stipend throughout the course, and upon completion, a job within the ministry is guaranteed.

Also, the Registered Nursing programme will open registration for the next batch of interested individuals early next year. This program will also be online but will span three years.

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Anand Persaud, Dr. Frank Anthony, Dr. Gavinash Persaud, Minister of Health, Minister of Local Government, Regional Health Officer

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