UPDATE : Two floors at Port of Spain Hospital were evacuated

TWO floors of the central building of the Port of Spain General Hospital were cleared out today after Health Minister Terrance Deyalsingh gave the all clear following this morning's Cabinet meeting.

Speaking with Newsday minutes ago, Deyalasingh said he gave the order to evacuate the two floors out of precaution after officials of UdeCOTT visited the building to assess its structural integrity following yesterday's earthquake. A report on that will be given to him tomorrow he said. He said he could not say how many patients were removed as those issues were best answered by the regional health authority.

The section evacuated was condemned years ago and a new 500 bed hospital was supposed to have replaced it according to Deyalsingh at the end of Cabinet meeting last month. Last month the a decision was taken on the building’s unsafe condition as this matter was of grave concern. The six-storey building was built in 1952 and houses in-patient and clinical services including 400 beds. Deyalsingh said then that past studies “have cast serious doubt as to the structural integrity of the building.” A 2009 Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) report found “major deficiencies”.