More comfort for women as GPHC’s maternity ward gets $92M expansion

Pregnant women and new mothers are expected to receive care in greater comfort now that the maternity section of the Georgetown Public Hospital has been expanded to the tune of $92 million.

This is according to the GPHC’s Chief Executive Officer (ag.) Dr. Robbie Rambarran, who spoke at the commissioning of the expanded facility on Wednesday.

In 2019, the Government of Guyana signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Canadian Bank Note Company through the Guyana Lottery Company to facilitate this project.

The lottery company provided about $50 million while the remaining $41 million was provided by the government. Rambarran highlighted that through this project, the maternity wing was expanded and importantly, the patient capacity has increased by some 48 per cent with the addition of 17 new beds in the prenatal ward and 16 beds in the postnatal ward.

The maternity section is also fully air-conditioned to ensure that the women and their babies are kept as safe as possible.

This is important Rambarran said because about 25 pregnant women are admitted to the hospital daily. Of that number, about 15 to 17 women would deliver babies.

Further, Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony said that about 40 per cent of all the births in Guyana- more than 14,000 annually- occur at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Most of the ‘high-risk’ patients are often treated at this hospital since those women would require more specialised care. It was acknowledged, however, that the hospital has often been strapped for space to accommodate the woman.

In fact, the GPHC Director of Medical and Professional Services Dr. Fawcett Jeffrey said, “I’m usually called every day to make the magic and find where patients have to go.”

With the expansion of this maternity section of the hospital, it is expected that better care will be offered to the thousands of women who require maternity services.