Charity Hospital falling apart
November 28, 2015 By
– lacks water, shortage of HIV kits
Despite the Public Health Ministry spending huge sum of monies to upgrade various public hospitals throughout the entire country, the Charity Oscar Joseph Hospital in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) needs urgent attention as it lacks essential conveniences to facilitate health services. There is presently a lack of adequate space for patients, a shortage of HIV kits, poor water resources and air conditioning units.
Currently, nurses and doctors are forced to go beyond their line of duty to execute their work effectively. Doctors are forced to fetch water whenever there is delivery and mothers are forced to deliver their babies in a hot room which has no air conditioning unit. This practice can result in the mothers contracting bacterial infections. According to a doctor, the conditions health professional are forced to operate under is poor of way below standard.
“Imagine if you have to do a delivery, a doctor will be sweating profusely just to do that delivery, due to the lack of water also sometimes you have to wait for the labourer to fetch water to you, this is just unacceptable for a hospital standard,” the medical officer related.
On a recent visit to the Hospital, Guyana Times observed almost all departments within the hospital had buckets filled with water. Whenever inquires were made about the purpose of the buckets of water, this publication was told by staff that water was not coming from the taps, so the water had to be fetched in for use.
“If you want to hear my honest opinion about Charity, honestly this place need a total overhaul, basic services cannot even be provided, rooms lack AC, water can’t even come out of the tap, there is so much that needs to be done,” one staff member commented.
Most of the rooms that accommodate patients are cramped and without air conditioning, as well at the room doctors usually use when not seeing a patient. It is without ventilation, an AC unit or a fan.
When Guyana Times questioned a senior official of the medical facility about the lack of water, the official, who wished not to be named, stated that the water is usually pumped in the tanks so the various departments can have access to water in the taps.
However, when this is not done, no water can be accessed in the building unless it is brought in via the buckets. It is unclear is any one person has the responsibility of ensuring the water is pumped into the tanks.
The Charity Oscar Joseph Hospital is the main medical hub for persons living in the Pomeroon and Region One (Barima-Waini) district. The Hospital is sought out by many living on the Essequibo coast who wish to access medical care. Essential services such as ultrasounds, eye tests and certain blood tests are not available at the medical institution and persons are forced to spend extra to access these services at the Suddie Public Hospital.
Falling apart
At the moment, the Radiologist attached to the Hospital is forced to work in deplorable conditions.
This member of staff is forced to fetch her own water and sits behind a door that separates her from the radioactive rays that are emitted from the machine. She is also shares this room with another doctor.
On the floor, the tiles have become upraised, with many missing, leaving the concrete beneath visible.
The Psychotherapist also complained of the humidity in her room, stating that she made a request for an air conditioning unit to be installed in her room, since she perspires profusely whenever she is attending to a patient. At the counselling section of the institution, there is lack of HIV kits and priority is given to only pregnant mothers.
No functioning operating theatre
The Charity Hospital usually has to rush emergency cases coming out from the Pomeroon River to the Suddie Public Hospital, since at the moment; the Hospital does not have a functional operating theatre, although there is a room allotted for such. If there should be an emergency, then that case could result in the death of the patient since the hospital is not equipped to deal with emergency cases. Many times, persons have to incurred additional expenses since medical attention had to be sought at the Suddie Public Hospital.
