Upper Demerara Regional remains an infectious hospital …for now – CEO

The Upper Demerara Regional Hospital will continue functioning as an infectious disease
hospital unless shifts in the health sector demand a change said Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Mr. Rudy Small.
Small said health sector administrators in Upper Demerara – Berbice (Region Ten) will keep
evaluating their decision.
In the past, the hospital was used to treat HIV/AIDS and TB patients and was badly stigmatized
by residents as the AIDS hospital. Now it is used to treat community members afflicted with the
contagious and deadly COVID -19 virus.
Small was mindful but not dissuaded.
“We prefer to call it our infectious hospital so given the incidents of COVID we needed a facility
in Region Ten to adequately care for our patients. It depends on what happens with COVID: If
the vaccine is successful and there is a break in the number with COVID we anticipate that we
may be able to revert Upper Demerara to its original intent but as right now it is our infectious
disease hospital,” Small stressed.
He continued, “If the vaccine is successful and we do not need such a facility, yes we would then
seek to revert it to its original intent however that is not on our charts right now as we still have
the pandemic and that is our focus of providing quality health care”.
Meanwhile, Small was forthright about shortage of drugs, medicines and pharmaceuticals
supplies in the bauxite-mining area due to circumstances beyond the Region’s control.
“There are sporadic shortages, and this is because even though the medications are ordered they
have to be shipped and for most parts the containers take a while so I would say that we are
getting there. We are not there as yet, so I would say that we have 80-85 percent of the
pharmaceuticals needed by our patients in Region 10 readily available. I am hoping that by the
second quarter all or 99 percent of the pharmaceuticals that are needed would be in place,” the
CEO forecasted.

He remains confident that the service in the health sector and at the Linden Hospital Complex
(LHC) will be improved.
“There have a been a great improvement in the number and the quality of medication coming
into the LHC,” Small said.