Clash over Children’s Hospital

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh and Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal clashed in Parliament yesterday over the Couva Children and Adult Hospital with both men accusing the other’s party of “criminal negligence” regarding local healthcare.

Moonilal had posed the question in the House and requested a status update on efforts to operationalise the hospital. Deyalsingh said discussions to operationalise the facility was with the University of the West Indies and Inter-Health Canada. Moonilal then asked what was the time table to complete discussions for this “critical facility” to be operationalised.

Deyalsingh responded: “I like the choice of words by my colleague ‘critical facility.’ The critical facility in this country...refers the central block in Port of Spain (General Hospital) where a 2009 PAHO report said that that central block was a seismic risk and should be replaced. That is the critical facility that should have been built in this country, not an 80-bed children’s hospital for $1.6 billion. If you want to talk about critical facilities that was critical.”

“But you told the people of Diego Martin and Port of Spain and Laventille/Morvant ‘we don’t care about you. We don’t care about central block.’”

Deyalsingh said the hospital was a construction site until July 2016 and when this administration came into office there was no HR plan nor a finance plan. He also pointed out the Wendy Fitzwilliam Children’s Hospital was only 70 per cent utilised.

He questioned why the previous administration did not put a cathetherisation lab in San Fernando General Hospital or repair the cath lab in Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex or repair the roof of St Ann’s Hospital.

“But all their solutions for the healthcare was to build a children’s hospital in Couva...to tug at the heart strings of Trinidad and Tobago.”

Moonilal then asked if it was not “an act of criminal negligence” to leave a children’s hospital closed but Deyalsingh said leaving the central block in Port of Spain when there was report of structural integrity was criminal negligence.