Operating theatre for pregnant women added at Infectious Diseases Hospital

AN OPERATING THEATRE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN AFFECTED BY COVID-19 IS
AMONG SEVERAL UPGRADES at the Infectious Diseases Hospital at Liliendaal the Health
Ministry recently announced.
“We have completed the operating theater at the Ocean View hospital, because on occasions we
have women who are coming in pregnant and on occasions we have to do emergency caesarean
sections (CS) and that’s why we have installed a theatre to cater for those emergencies. In
instances the mothers are too sick to be moved to the Georgetown hospital, and therefore, we
really have to do an emergency operation sometimes,” Dr. Anthony said.
Anthony noted that apart from the operating theatre, the hospital will soon be fully outfitted to
take oxygen to all patients’ beds.
“So, we have piped oxygen, going to every bed on the floor and we had started about a week and
a half ago on the third floor. So, that’s about completed as well. The entire hospital…close to
195 or so beds…now have oxygen,” Dr. Anthony said.
The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and Sewa Guyana recently donated an oxygen generating
plant to the hospital to provide it an independent source of oxygen for the hospital’s Intensive
Care Unit (ICU).
“We have been expanding the ICU so we can comfortably accommodate about 50 patients, ICU
type patients, the other wards are there for people who would have the less severe form of covid,
but nevertheless, they require hospitalisation,” he stressed.
“On the outside of the building, we have started construction of a base, so that when the oxygen
plant comes into Guyana, that we will have the suitable base on which it can be installed so these
are the works that have been ongoing at the,” the minister noted.

He said the health facility currently has extra beds now to accommodate patients as COVID-19
infections decline nationwide.
“I would say excess capacity because our cases at the hospital have come down quite a bit.
Right now, we have 41 patients at the hospital with 17 in the ICU. (Previously) we had an
average 38 patients in the ICU and probably about 120 patients in the hospital itself. So
that’s a significant difference,” Dr Anthony said.