Excellence on show at St James hospital

THE EDITOR: My heartfelt thanks to the ambulance service and the staff of the St James Medical Complex for their timely response and excellent care of my elderly father after he injured himself on November 12.

As a diabetic with severe foot neuropathy, my father did not realise he had cut underneath his big toe very badly until I came to help him. The cut was so deep that his toe was hanging awkwardly.

I immediately called the ambulance, and while I did have to spend several long minutes on hold, it arrived within ten minutes. The two female paramedics were very competent and compassionate in dealing with us, and the trip to the St James facility in the well-equipped, modern ambulance was assisted by a helpful police vehicle.

My father was attended to as quickly as could be managed, given that there appeared to be a shortage of doctors, and a lack of air conditioning in the operating room.

The staff’s concern when they heard of the fall in his bathroom made them insist on a CT scan, despite his protests that he had no headache.

The nurses kindly located soft food for him to eat as, at age 97, he has some difficulty masticating, and Dr Mohammed did an excellent job of stitching the wound.

As emergency experiences go, it was almost pleasant, especially in comparison to our visit to the ER at Port of Spain General the previous Saturday.

It is, however, a great shame that such dedicated healthcare professionals have to struggle to provide decent care in outdated and poorly maintained facilities. We can only hope that whoever wins the next election will have both the courage and wherewithal to perform a serious revamp of the country’s healthcare facilities and work efficiently to bring them all into the 21st century.

In the meantime, I commend the staff of the St James Medical Complex for their professionalism and attention to duty, as well as for their concern for their patients’ comfort, and hope they continue to provide such a high standard of service to their clientele.

CECILE GEORGE

Woodbrook