The Guyana government is preparing to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a University of the West Indies (UWI) Nursing School in the country. President Irfaan Ali announced this during the sod-turning ceremony for the new Lethem Regional Hospital, stating that tuition fees at the school would be aligned with those in Trinidad.
The new hospital will have 75 in-patient beds, two fully equipped operating rooms, a modern emergency room, and various diagnostic imaging services, including digital and portable x-rays, one CT machine, and three ultrasound machines. It will also serve as a teaching hospital. President Ali envisions the medical school not only benefiting Guyana but also serving the neighboring State of Roraima, aiming to train skilled medical professionals from the region.
"The regional authorities have already said that there is a group of investors from the state of Roraima who want to invest in a medical school and medical facility in Region Nine," Ali told the ceremony.
The State of Roraima located in the North Region of Brazil and Guyana said the investments will not only boost the quality of healthcare, it will also empower countless Guyanese with access to quality education in healthcare, equipping them with the necessary qualifications to propel the sector to massive heights.
He said that the government continues to invest in the vision of establishing new facilities to enable Guyanese to acquire global certification, noting that in Region Nine, since 2020, several facilities have been established.
"This means that in 2020, the total number of patients the healthcare system saw in this region was 25,000. In the first half of 2024, the total number of patients that their healthcare system saw moved to 67,000. This is because healthcare now has become more accessible, affordable, friendly, efficient and reachable," he added.
Level one facilities are typically primary healthcare centers that provide basic medical services and treatment for common ailments, while level two facilities offer more specialized care with level three providing the highest level of medical care.