Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Aug 29, 2012 News
For almost eight years now, an ambulance donated to the Beterverwagting Health Centre, has been sitting in that facility’s compound…and left to rot.
The vehicle, said to worth an estimated $5M, has been lying dormant in a garage for want of repairs.
Residents complained that for quite some time, the vehicle has been useless to them. As a matter of fact, the health centre’s users said that for a significantly long period of time the ambulance has not been operational and currently serves no purpose.
The residents are claiming that they once had the benefits of the ambulance’s use with the services of trained operators, but now they have to revert to the lone East Coast Demerara ambulance that caters for health centres, stretching as far as Clonbrook.
According to the residents, the ambulance which was donated to their community over a decade ago is managed by a committee. Kaieteur News was told that at least two villagers were hired and trained by the committee to operate the ambulance while there was also a separate operations room that took in calls when the ambulance was needed.
They, however, said that after the 2005 flood which the ambulance had survived, it was no longer operational. The vehicle has since been under lock and key in the compound’s garage and no one seems to know what it requires. “The rust on the padlock could tell that this thing has been here for a long time,” a man said.
The residents explained that they face great difficulty when an emergency occurs in the village. They said that they had to resort to private or public vehicles when transporting the sick since they have to depend on the services of the regional ambulance, which is sometimes unavailable.
The residents also want a shed to be built in the compound.
It is understood that almost 100 persons use the health facility on a daily basis with no means of shelter. It would also facilitate the elderly persons, the residents said.
The need for a regular caretaker was also lamented by the residents who pointed to the tall grass that had taken over the health centre’s immediate surroundings. They said that tending to the grass in the compound is only done periodically.
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