San Fernando Hospital also affected by flooding

A video of a “super wardsman” carrying a nurse’s aide on his back, while pushing a patient in a wheelchair through a flooded corridor of the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH), has prompted a call for emphasis to be placed on the infrastructure of health institutions.

The incident is said to have occurred on Thursday after a heavy downpour flooded the Accident and Emergency Department.

Former chairman of South West Regional Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) board Dr Lackram Bodoe said the video would be funny, had it not been such a serious issue.

“Government is taking us for a ride in this healthcare sector,” the Opposition MP for Fyzabad said. “If that video circulating on social media showing hospital staff and a patient being wheeled through a flooded corridor at one of the nation’s hospitals is true, then the healthcare sector is indeed on the verge of collapse.

“A nurse riding on the back of a healthcare worker while he is pushing a patient through a flooded hospital corridor would be funny, were it not a real scenario in one of our hospitals.”

He said this is yet another issue patients face on a daily basis at  health institutions, in addition to the numerous woes of inadequate drugs and supplies.

“We are now witnessing the fallout from failed/absent preventive maintenance on the ageing infrastructure at some of these facilities.

“If the episode depicted on the video is attributable to the heavy rains, then it reflects poor planning on the part of the RHA to mitigate for such eventualities.

“In either case, it reflects the inability of this government and this Minister of Health to maintain a safe physical environment for patient care, and for healthcare workers to do their jobs safely.”

Bodoe said despite spending billions on the health sector since 2015, the government continues to fall short when it comes to providing satisfactory healthcare.

“Whether it is long waiting times for beds, surgery or clinic appointments, or shortage of drugs and essential supplies, the government continues to fail us. Now we are seeing that they are unable to prevent flooding even in our nation’s hospitals.

“While the MOH (Minister of Health) continues to boast that his government is providing first-class healthcare, the experience of ordinary citizens and patients on the ground tells a different story.

Head of corporate communications at the SWRHA  Kevon Gervais  told Newsday, “While there was a situation of minimal overflow of water, due to the inclement weather, it was confined to an isolated area on the ground floor of the SFGH.

“Patient care is not compromised or affected.

“The SWRHA also assures that we are working assiduously with partner agencies to permanently mitigate the reoccurrence of such situation, when it rains heavily.”