Latest update April 20th, 2024 12:59 AM
Oct 08, 2010 News
“Not conducive to work, health or well being” is how several staff members of the Upper Demerara Hospital (Wismar Hospital) have described the conditions under which they are forced to work, and which patients have to endure.
The grievances listed by the frustrated workers seemed endless, ranging from lack of potable water, to toilets that don’t work and the non-payment of salaries for staff nurses who were appointed since June 7, last.
Asked how they were existing, the unanimous answer was “By the grace of God,” which was not surprising considering their daily expenses, including travel. The nurses said that the Administration of the Linden Hospital Complex claimed that there is no money to pay them, and that there is an issue of overstaffing.
Yet many times there are not enough personnel per shift, according to the peeved nurses.
There is also no resident doctor at the Wismar Hospital, even though the maternity ward has been functioning again for some time now. Also in cases of emergencies in the nights, patients have to be sent across to the Mackenzie Hospital.
A concerned nurse declared, “Now suppose there is a problem with a delivery – there is no doctor here, so the patient has to be sent across the river – in that space of time it would take the ambulance to come over here and go back to the other Hospital, that patient could die!”
There is no ambulance stationed at the Wismar Hospital.
WORKING ENVIRONMENT
Shockingly, the shabbiest area in the hospital is the chest clinic (tuberculosis clinic), where the floor is in such a deplorable state, that no mopping can be done. Most of the tiles were ripped up since last March and should have been replaced soon after, but to date nothing further has been done, and the rough concrete floor remains ‘naked’, and impossible to clean.
There is also no ventilation in this area, it was pointed out.
The scale, which is considered vital to monitoring the weight of patients, has also not been working since March, even though it was certified by the National Bureau of Standards at the beginning of the year, it was reported.
The main door to the clinic is not working, so staff was forced to use the back entrance, and establish a makeshift reception office right in front of the lavatory. Apart from the unhealthy environment, using the back entrance is not safe, according to the nurses, as the area is at the back of the hospital where persons hardly traverse.
The family health clinic “is a dry weather clinic”. The leaking roof floods the entire passageway.
Chairs have to be strategically placed whenever it rains, according to the nurses, who also pointed out that the leaking roof was responsible for damaging a brand new computer, printer and an air conditioning unit.
At present, these pieces of equipment have to be wrapped in plastic to safeguard them from further damage.
The refrigerator in the Casualty Ward is not working, so nurses have nowhere to keep water or beverages. They are prohibited from storing these items in the refrigerator in the maternity ward because the area in which they work (the Casualty Ward) is deemed infectious.
Both staff and patients also have to take their own water, as there is no potable water.
NEED TO RENOVATE
A particularly vocal and irate nurse exclaimed, “Right now this whole hospital needs renovating, from the toilets and washroom, to the roof and fence.”
Those sentiments were reiterated by several others.
The compressor in the dental area has not been working since last year, according to the dentist attached to the hospital, Dr Linden Winfield. This has been severely hampering the services in this area, as no fillings can be done, and all cleaning has to be done manually.
This should not be, Dr Winfield pointed out, “when there is a compressor to ‘drive’ the equipment.”
Dr Winfield also expressed dissatisfaction with the standard of works that are executed at the hospital.
“Work here is not properly supervised to ensure quality work, so after only a few months we are back to square one and they have to come back and do the same work all over again!”
The dentist also drew attention to some shabby looking cupboards, which he said were built in such a way as to minimize material and labour.
The cupboards which should have had three doors were only equipped with two, so access to supplies stored in them were quite problematic, Winfield pointed out.
He said that a lot of the problems at the hospital stem from the fact that there is no ‘proper chain of command’ that specifies who does what, as a lot of times staff is in a quandary as to who to contact to fix what.
“Sometimes we need something and we don’t even know who to go to.’’
According to informed sources, the Linden Hospital Complex has responsibility for the day to day maintenance of the Upper Demerara Hospital (Wismar Hospital), while the Regional Democratic Council is responsible for more major works.
But according to the peeved staff of the Wismar Hospital, reports and complaints on issues affecting them have been forwarded to high ranking officials of these two entities, but have been falling on deaf ears.
Efforts to secure a comment from the administration of the Linden Hospital Complex proved futile.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
Apr 20, 2024
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