| The opening of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC)’s Maternity Unit’s new wing has been delayed by another month.This is mainly because there were some hiccups in acquiring flooring materials for the Operating Theatre which is currently under construction in the new wing.The New Wing at the Maternity Unit.Minister of Public Health,Cheap Jerseys, Dr. George Norton revealed this during an interview with this newspaper recently. He said that unlike the other parts of the building, the theatre has to get “special flooring material.”“The contractor had to import the materials so we need more time,” the Minister stated.According to Dr. Norton, the building should be opened next month.In the 2016 National Budget, $89M was set aside for the development of the facility’s maternity unit.The new facility will have 50 beds and a 17-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU),Wholesale Jerseys, an Operating Theatre and birthing rooms that are sound proof. The Minister said that the upper floor of the existing unit will be completely converted into a ward while the bottom floor will house the administrative offices.The upgrade, according to the Minister, will see mothers and their newborns benefitting from better patient care while being cared for at the facility.Apart from the new wing, the unit will benefit from table-top foetal heart rate monitors,China NFL Jerseys, handheld foetal heart monitors and portable ultrasound machines.Overcrowding at the Maternity Unit has been a regular thing but the Public Health Minister said that when the new wing is completed, it will be a thing of the past.Up to two months ago,Wholesale China Jerseys, four persons were made to share one bed at the unit—two mothers and their newborn babies.A few weeks ago, a mother was photographed nursing her newborn under a bed at the hospital—mainly because there were no available beds.This newspaper was told that since the opening of the maternity unit in 1988,Cheap NFL Authentic Jerseys, adequate spacing has always been a challenge. However,Jerseys NFL Cheap, the new wing is expected to add some relief to the problem.“We have different seasons. Sometimes we have a lot of pregnant mothers and then there are times when we don’t have that many and all the beds are free then. So no matter how many more beds we get, the situation will still be the same,” a source at the hospital explained.The hospital delivers about 400 babies per month from February to May, then 300-plus in June and July, and it climbs back up to 400-plus in August. This continues to fluctuate for the rest of the year.This total amounts to 60 percent of the babies born in Guyana. |
