MoU to be signed soon for UWI nursing school in Guyana

The government will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a University of West Indies (UWI) Medical school in Guyana.

President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali made the announcement at the sod-turning ceremony for a new state-of-the-art Lethem Regional Hospital on Sunday.

The new hospital will be well equipped with 75 in-patient beds, two fully functional operation rooms, a modern ER and procedure rooms, diagnostic imaging services, digital x-rays, portable x-rays, 1 CT machine and three ultrasound machine.

It will serve as a teaching hospital, equipping the region’s medical practitioners with the skills to meet global standards.

Earlier this year, President Ali said that the government was in talks with UWI for the establishment of this school.

He said that the aim is to ensure that the tuition fees for this institution in Guyana would be the same as in Trinidad.

The University of Guyana currently has its own School of Medicine, but an additional facility would provide incentives for innovation and improved quality. 

“The regional authorities have already said that there is a group of investors from the  state of Roraima who want to invest in a medical school and medical facility in Region Nine,” the president further disclosed.

The State of Roraima is located in the North Region of Brazil.

These investments will not only boost the quality of healthcare, it will empower countless Guyanese with access to quality education in healthcare, equipping them with the necessary qualifications to propel the sector to massive heights.

The president underscored the importance of ensuring that the citizens of Guyana are able to compete in the rapidly transforming global environment.

He said that the government continues to invest in this vision, establishing new facilities to enable Guyanese to acquire global certification.

He further emphasised that the government is boosting access to healthcare in the region.

In Region Nine, since 2020, he pointed out that four new Level One facilities, two new Level Two facilities and four new Level Three facilities were established.

“This means that in 2020, the total number of patients the healthcare system saw in this region was 25,000. In the first half of 2024, the total number of patients that their healthcare system saw moved to 67,000. This is because healthcare now has become more accessible, affordable, friendly, efficient and reachable,” he asserted.

Level one facilities are typically primary healthcare centres that provide basic medical services and treatment for common ailments. Level Two facilities are usually secondary care facilities that offer more specialised care, while Level Three facilities provide the highest level of medical care. The expansion of facilities at all three levels represents a significant improvement in the region’s healthcare infrastructure, with positive implications for the health and well-being of its residents.