Construction and Equipment of the General Hospital in Western Managua (Development Phase)

Managua is the capital of Nicaragua and has a population of about 1.5 million. 25 percent of the countrys population. Over the past years the city has been growing rapidly resulting in a relatively high population density of 398 inhabitants per km2 and a predominantly young population. The population growth has put an enormous pressure on the existing health care services of Managua.The hospital is situated in a highly populated and poor urban area of Western Managua. The project consists of three fundamental elements:- Construction of a new hospital in Western Managua- Installation and commissioning of medical and non-medical equipment- Technical assistance and institutional strengthening.The general hospital will function as a national referral hospital and will replace the 160-bed Mother and Child Hospital Vélez Paiz (founded in 1944). The life span of this hospital building has expired and was closed down in April 2014 due to severe earthquake damage. The new hospital will provide the following medical specialties: gynaecology neonatology paediatrics internal medicine imaging ICU surgery and traumatology. The hospital will have 300 beds for inpatients distributed over the different medical specialties. Furthermore, 20 post-surgery beds 15 observation posts 6 general consulting rooms two paediatrics consultation rooms a full fletch emergency department seven operating theatres six delivery units 18 consulting rooms and six examination rooms a radiology department and extensive laboratory services.The main objective of the project is to increase health care coverage and the quality of health care services in Managua and Nicaragua. The specific objectives of the project are reducing infant and maternal mortality rates in Managua and reducing the general morbidity and mortality rates in Nicaragua.