Work at the Diagnostic and Treatment Centre at Diamond, East Bank Demerara is almost completed with installations of the X-ray and surgical equipment awaiting electricity.
The equipment will be installed as soon as the centre has been electrified, which is planned for some time this week, before it would be fully operational. During a Saturday visit to the facility, Joey Persaud, the contractor’s project supervisor told Stabroek News that all the work but a walkway leading to the doctors’ quarters was completed, though the dorms are complete and the doctors are occupying the building. Persaud said the water system was installed and a back-up generator was in the compound though it has not been installed. He said a skeleton staff was cleaning the centre.
The 27-member Cuban medical team who will man the facility arrived in Guyana on Thursday. The team includes orthopaedists, gynaecologists, ophthalmologists, dentists and bio-medical technician Raphael Dias Valdes. Dias will be tasked with repairing equipment at the centre and at the Ophthalmology Centre at Port Mourant, Berbice. The team is expected to serve for five years. According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release issued on Thursday, Minister within the Ministry of Health Bheri Ramsaran said the centre is likely to begin operations in time for the local Cricket World Cup matches but minor remodelling of electrical installations was needed to facilitate the testing of specialized equipment. He also said the Intensive Care Unit at the centre is equipped with six beds and the building boasts an observation area. GINA had said the Diamond centre will have the capacity to treat about 10,000 patients annually and is expected to cater for patients from neighbouring Venezuela, Suriname and the Caribbean.
