A new four-storey maternity ward at the National Paediatric Hospital in Phnom Penh is set to be officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Hun Sen on April 20, said Minister of Health Mam Bun Heng while visiting the progress of its construction on April 18.

“The new building is equipped with modern equipment, with the assistance of the Czech Republic. It will provide services such as paediatric consulting, antenatal check-ups, paediatric immunisation, maternity and postpartum problems.

“The ward is state-of-the-art, especially the modernisation of information technology to provide health monitoring for children, mothers and pregnancy screening as well as care for children born prematurely or underweight to have more care rooms,” he said.

Bun Heng also commended the medical teams of the hospital as well as other relevant departments who closely monitored people’s health over Khmer New Year.

The maternity ward can accommodate more than 100 beds. Its construction started in 2021 and was scheduled to be finished in September 2022, but delays caused by the pandemic pushed it back into 2023.

Currently, the hospital has two major services: Paediatrics and maternity. The new building was paid for by the government using funds from the national budget. The health ministry said it expects that the facility will greatly improve healthcare services for children and expecting mothers.