Port Kaituma Hospital commissioned

The waiting area for one of the pharmacies. (DPI photo)
The waiting area for one of the pharmacies. (DPI photo)

The long-awaited $959m Port Kaituma Regional Hospital was commissioned today by de facto Minister of Public Health Volda Lawrence.

According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), the Port Kaituma Hospital is the only health facility in the region with a water filtration system and wastewater treatment system.

DPI added that the district will have an Internal medicine specialist and a paediatrician working out of the sub-district for the first time.

Residents will no longer have to travel to Mabaruma where the regional hospital is located or take a flight to Georgetown.

 The construction of the facility began in 2014 with the previous administration contracting the project to R. Bassoo and Sons, and Kalitech as the supervisory consultancy firm overseeing the project. The initial project was valued at $700M.

It was abandoned due to many issues. In September last year, it was announced that the Public Health Ministry had reformulated a plan for the new complex which included provisions for all the necessary services, some of which were not catered for during the initial stages.

DPI said that International Imports and Supplies is one of the firms contracted to complete all corrective works to the facility and works are ongoing. The contract period will run until June 2020.