The Committee of Supply on Thursday approved a total of $150 million for the rehabilitation of several health facilities in Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne).
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Sonia Parag who defended the ministry’s 2024 spending in the National Assembly, said that this money will help to improve the livelihood of patients.
“So, we have the New Amsterdam Hospital and that is $20 million and that will cater for about 250,000 patients across Regions Five and Six to access better health care facilities in a clean and tidy environment,” Parag said.
Some $10 million will also go towards rehabilitating a deteriorated sanitary block at the Skeldon Hospital. This project is expected to benefit 15,000 patients.
At the Port Mourant Hospital, $15 million will be spent on renovations.
This includes repair to the roof, carpentry, plumbing, electrical wiring, painting of the walls and tiling of the floors, refurbishing of the laboratory, and the procurement of medical supplies among others.
This will see about 25,000 patients being exposed to a better environment upon their visit.
Meanwhile, the Mibicuri Hospital at Black Bush Polder will undergo similar renovation works. This will be done for $15 million and will cater for some 10,000 patients within the village.
“You have the National Psychiatric Hospital and we are doing repairs there with the roof, the walls. We are tiling and looking after the electrical wiring and the sanitary systems…and these are called preventative maintenance,” Parag explained.
Additionally, the she said that work will be done on seven doctors’ living quarters in Region Six at a total cost of over $18 million.
A sum of $3 million has been set aside for rehabilitation works at the Mibicuri and Skeldon health centers.
Some 4,000 persons including health workers and patients who live in the area are expected to benefit from this improvement.
While, another $2 million will also be going to the New Amsterdam health center and will improve the health environment for about 15,000 patients.
Other facilities that will be rehabilitated include health centers at Evesham, Angoy’s Avenue, Bushlot, Port Mourant and Williamsburg.
The Port Mourant Health Centre and the Williamsburg health centers will both cost $8 million while the others will each cost $1 million for its rehabilitation. (DPI)
