Western Regional Hospital Gets Major Improvements

An extension of the Accident and Emergency Unit at the Western Regional Hospital officially opened today to receive patients.  The new wing, worth more than two hundred thousand U.S. dollars, came as a result of an increasing number of persons needing emergency services.  The unit was built and equipped using funds made possible through the Beyond the Horizon Project. It is a significant improvement to the hospital in the nation’s capital, which services western communities. Hipolito Novelo has the story.

Hipolito Novelo, Reporting

In the past three years, health professionals at the Western Regional Hospital have been observing an increase in the number of accident patients needing emergency services. In fact, the Chief of Staff at the Western Regional Hospital, Dr. Rene Godoy says that the figure has doubled from about four hundred consultations to about eight hundred per month.

Rene Godoy

Dr. Rene Godoy, Chief of Staff, W.R.H.

“We continue to have our challenges but the young population bring their own dynamics to it. Our adult population has their hypertensions and heart attacks. We add that we are at the crossroads of two major highways. That in itself impacts the types of services that we provide.”

Hipolito Novelo

“What are some improvements in terms of the equipment and the facility?”

Dr. Rene Godoy

“Through the partnership that we have gotten monitors, defibrillators, machines that shock you back to life. So these are things that were tremendously improved and now we will offer it to the population.”

The statistics alone is cause for concern for the under staffed hospital. However, an investment of more than two hundred thousand US dollars made possible by the US Embassy in Belize through the Beyond the Horizon Project is making it easier for the doctors and nurses at the Western Regional Hospital.

Adrienne Galanek

Adrienne Galanek, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy

“We realized that the building needed to be connected so we were able to get funds through the Beyond the Horizon Project for the material. The BDF light engineers partnered with the former Beyond the Horizon Supervisor who came back to Belize and they worked shoulder to shoulder on the project, to build this beautiful building. And it was not only a project with the B.D.F. light engineers or with our military service member but it was also a partnership with the community.”

Hipolito Novelo

“You have seen the finished work. What do you think of it?”

Adrienne Galanek

“I think it is amazing and as you know, Hipolito, the beauty of the jewel is the people. And our partnerships are the people. I think this building symbolizes all of that and what collectively as a community can happen.”

And what should happen now is that patients should receive better care.

Pablo Marin

Pablo Marin, Minister of Health

“We have two areas that will do the triage when the patients come in. We have four rooms where patients will be placed at. You can see that the nurses have better monitoring of the patients. We have one area; a new area which we are doing now is the OBGYN area. The women who are pregnant will be there for triage and see if there are any complications.”

Hipolito Novelo

“Sir, what about the staffing? Do we have enough people to man this station?”

Pablo Marin

“Well the staffing, we have the normal staffing. Like Dr. Godoy mentioned, we still have two areas of emergency. What they want to do is to separate the children or the maternal and child to any other emergency that comes in here. Definitely we have to look at staffing but they will give us a proposal.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Hipolito Novelo.