By Royan Abrams
The Maternity Unit which is a refurbished building presently housed in the compound of the Port Mourant Public Hospital and will cater for sixteen patients at a time. It has also cost the Ministry of Public Health approximately $16M along with additional support from the private sector.
News Room understands that the building which was not in use for years is ready to accommodate patients as early as today. It is the hope that it will make life easier for Berbicians as it will save time, money and the burden of persons residing in the Central Corentyne area having to travel all the way to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital to deliver their new borns.
Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton who was present at the commissioning of the maternity unit says the facility has the much-needed equipment and medical supplies.
Additionally, it was disclosed that there are plans to expand the unit with an operating theater even if it’s to do only obstetrics.
According to the Public Health Minister, although he is not sure if money has been budgeted for an operating theatre to be built at the Port Mourant Hospital, he noted that it is something that he wants to see at the health institution to keep the upward flow of health care services in the East Berbice Corentyne area.
The idea of having the maternity unit at the Port Mourant Hospital was welcomed by one of the doctors in charge of the hospital, Dr. Shari Larose, who told the gathering that a lot of patients had indicated that they preferred to have their babies delivered at the health facility.
Director of Public Health Services, Jevaughn Stephen told the media that with the approval of $1.9 billion dollars for region six in the 2017 budget allocation, “development is on the rise…and before the end of 2017, we will ensure that region six is the best region when it comes to health care delivery.”
The Maternity Unit is presently equipped with incubators, baby warmers, fetal monitor, sterilizer, electric beds, delivery beds, digital scales and other equipment.
