‘All’s well at PoS hospital’
By Yvonne Baboolal
No Doctor called in sick at Port-of-Spain General Hospital yesterday and most of them turned out to work.
This was revealed by North-West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) communications spokesman Debbie Ann Bailey
At Port-of-Spain, things worked out well,” she said.
Chief Executive Officer of the North-West Regional Health Authority Agatha Carrington said the Port-of-Spain General Hospital was not as badly affected as other hospitals.”
Bailey said the hospitals system of sending some of their patients to private institutions when necessary was still in place and patients were being taken care of.
Yesterday, a crowd of patients waited to see the doctor at the hospital’s clinic and others at the Accident and Emergency Department said they had been waiting for hours for attention.
There was another large crowd to receive medication from the dispensary and at least one man waited in a wheelchair in the corridor for nearly an hour to be admitted as a patient.
Carol Meetoo of Beetham Gardens said people who came to the Accident and Emergency Department were being sent back home, depending on the gravity of their illness.
At lunchtime yesterday, Meetoo who was holding X-ray film, said she had been waiting since 8 am to be attended to.
She said that “was normal” at the hospital.
Sean Toussaint of Maraval, with a bandaged arm, leaned against a wall while he waited in a crowd to see the doctor at the clinic.
I have a long wait,” he said.
Other patients waiting to see the doctor said they were prepared to wait.
There were the usual hospital woes.
A 63-year-old Chaguanas woman, who said she was a diabetic, was refused her insulin medication at the dispensary.
She said she was told they did not have the right dosage for her.
Her daughter who accompanied her said dispensary staff told them to go and get a proper cooler to store the insulin and then return.
“We had brought a regular styrotex cooler but were told it was not the proper thing,” she said.
Holding her ill mother’s hand, she said, they walked down Charlotte Street in the burning sun, bought another cooler and returned to the hospital.
Only to be told that they did not have any insulin to give us,” she added.
The elderly woman said she has to take the medication twice a day.
I am not working and I am not on pension...I don’t know where I will get it,” she said.“I can’t afford a private doctor, they charge $150 a visit.”
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