The Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) says an ambulance was dispatched on Monday night to respond to the fatal accident at Bee Hive.
In a press release on Wednesday, the GPHC expressed disappointment at the page 10 headline in Wednesday’s edition of Stabroek News which said that a failed plea was made for an ambulance. The hospital said that its records show that an ambulance – BHH 4102 was dispatched at 7.31 pm and returned at 8.25 pm with two male victims.
The Stabroek News report was based on an interview with Joan Williams who lives near to the accident scene. She told Stabroek News that after the accident she had immediately called her friend who is an ambulance driver but he had pointed out that he couldn’t dispatch himself. He advised her to call 913 and she said that when she called the number she was plied with all sorts of questions and then told to call the LBI estate. She added that at this point her credit was running low and she screamed that an ambulance was desperately needed.
In its statement, the GPHC said that when the woman called the driver on his personal phone he passed it to the dispatcher. The GPHC said that because of the woman’s “frantic state” the dispatcher was unable to understand what was being said. “In an effort to understand the woman’s plea, the phone was given to another person on duty who advised her to call either the La Bonne Intention (LBI) estate or the Melanie estate because of their proximity to the accident scene.” The hospital noted that the GPHC ambulance would have to cover 37 miles. The GPHC said that having complained about the limited credit in her phone the caller was advised to ring 913 which is toll free.
However, the GPHC said that before she called 913 the supervisor on duty was made aware of the situation and realizing the seriousness of the matter he dispatched the ambulance to Bee Hive. The GPHC said when Williams called 913 she was told that the ambulance had been dispatched.
The GPHC said it could not comprehend why the Stabroek News reporter could not get through to the ambulance dispatcher’s office since the service is operated around the clock. The reporter had called the number and was put on to the supervisor who said that he could not hear what was being said because of noise in the background. He then gave the reporter another number to be contacted at but when the reporter tried the number it rang out.
The hospital said that it has been repeatedly stated that only the Chief Executive Officer Michael Khan and Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr Madan Rambaran are authorized to speak to the media on any incident involving the hospital.
The GPHC said that 15 persons were taken to the hospital after the Bee Hive accident and were transported in a minibus, police car, Enmore ambulance and GPHC ambulance in that order. “The GPHC remains committed to assisting the public but persons must understand that like any other system, procedures need to be followed”, the release said.
