Indian firm to build specialty hospital in Guyana

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President Bharrat Jagdeo and Minister in the Health Ministry, Dr Bheri Ramsaran (left) touring a hospital in India during a recent visit

The tender process for construction of a US$18 million specialty hospital in Guyana will start shortly in India, President Bharrat Jagdeo said.

Speaking at a news conference following his return from a week-long visit to India, Jagdeo said construction of the facility is expected to start before the end of the year. He said that during his visit, Guyana was able to identify a partner to manage the facility, and he indicated readiness to access a line of credit that is available to this country.

The head of state revealed that while government is looking at multiple sites to construct this facility, the location close to the University of Guyana at Liliendaal is suitable.

“So, within a year and a half, maximum two years, any surgery that you can have in the United States of America we’ll be able to have here in Guyana, with the same quality and (at) a fraction of the cost.” India, the president said, is acclaimed in the field of expert medical care, since U.S. citizens are going to India to undergo certain surgeries, like heart surgeries, which are significantly cheaper there.

Figures published in an Emerging Market report for 2007 indicate that, in the U.S., it costs US$50,000 for cardiac surgery, whilst this same surgery costs just US$4,000 in India.

Jagdeo feels that, once established, the facility could attract patients from Brazil, other South American countries, and the U.S. “The rates will be negotiated between the government of Guyana and the new management of the hospital, but I can say to you that it is going to be healthcare at the highest possible level,” he assured.

India provides high-quality medical care to medical tourists, which is one of the major external drivers of growth of the Indian healthcare sector.

The emergence of India as a destination for medical tourism leverages the country’s well-educated, English-speaking medical staff and state-of-the-art medical technology.

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