The design for the specialty hospital which will be staffed with medical experts from India is slated to commence this year and government will pump some $150M into the project for the “design and initial stage,” Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy said yesterday.
While noting that the concept of the hospital is not new, he pointed out that the funds were catered for in this year’s national budget. He said that hospital will be a “top class hospital” and one which will be used for “medical tourism.”
President Bharrat Jagdeo left for India on Sunday and according to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) his visit will clinch a deal for a specialty hospital to be manned by a team of experts from that country.
The release had described the president’s visit as “an unprecedented mission that is likely to bring a major boost to the provision of health care services to this country.” It said that the government had sealed a soft loan agreement with India for the setting up of a specialty hospital manned by a team of experts from that country. It added that in the long-term the move will significantly reduce the cost incurred for Guyanese to travel for specialist health care, particularly in the area of heart surgery, hip replacement and internal medicine, among others.
According to Dr Ramsammy, the venture would be a private/public one, much like the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI). He said the hospital will be run like a private hospital, with professionals initially from India and later experts from other countries.
He told Stabroek News that the hospital will be presented as a “medical tourism” facility and it is expected that persons will travel to Guyana for various medical interventions—the same way many from the US and other countries flock India—which will be provided at a cheaper cost than in the developed world. “The hospital will be manned by very highly skilled people who are already successful in India,” he said.
Dr Ramsammy explained that while the design for the hospital will commence soon, a building site has not yet been identified. He said that the president will be having a follow-up meeting with the experts, some of whom will be putting money into the venture. He said, “Hopefully the hospital will be funded by investors.”
Dr Ramsammy revealed that the idea for the hospital has been in the making for over a year after the president had an initial meeting with some experts in Guyana. “It is not as if this is new. We have been discussing this for quite some time now,” he said.
The GINA release had said that when the hospital becomes operational, the facility will also offer health services to nationals in other South American countries, the Caribbean Community and North America.
President Jagdeo said that the costs for Guyanese patients are likely to be significantly lower given that Georgetown will be co-investing in the initiative with the Indian Government. “So we don’t have to send our people abroad for complicated surgeries etc. it will all be done here in Guyana so the entire public health system is being transformed,” he was quoted as saying.
