By Cathy Richards
PNCR Member of Parliament Vanessa Kissoon has slammed conditions at the Paediatric Ward at the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC), which she says are making patient care difficult.
Kissoon, whose five-month-old son is a patient of at the LHC expressed concerns over a broken tap which saw a colossal waste of water one day and a shortage the next day, which saw parents being forced to fetch buckets of water to bath their children.
Contacted for a comment, Chief Executive Officer of the LHC Gordon Gumbs said the Guyana Water Inc had developed problems at its treatment plant which resulted in the water being cut off yesterday. He said there was supposed to be a back-up system in place but there was a snag yesterday. Gumbs did not address the issue of the broken tap.
According to Kissoon, she was forced to take her baby to the hospital as he was suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea.
“My son was being held at the outpatient unit yesterday [Tuesday] for observation. It had gotten late and I decided to go to the Paediatric Ward to tidy him up because he was vomiting and so on all the time. When I went to the bathroom area it was so deplorable…,” she said. According to the distraught mother the tap in the bathroom area was flowing continuously and the floor was wet and slippery.
She said on investigating, she was informed that the situation had existed for quite sometime, despite several reports to the hospital authorities. “I didn’t fail in making further inquiries,” she said.
Kissoon’s baby was subsequently admitted to the ward and she said the situation was further complicated yesterday morning. “When I woke up this [yesterday] morning there was no running water and what was worse I was told that I had to fetch water from the front of the building from some storage tanks to tidy my baby.” She added that other parents were told to do the same.
The MP, who had her baby by caesarean section five months ago said that because of her condition she had to solicit assistance to get water to tidy her baby. “They got some water from somewhere. They had some stored, just about two cups full. I was fortunate because I knew people but what about others?” she questioned.
She said that she made several attempts to contact hospital administrator Trevor Vangenderen and Gumbs but these proved futile.
When contacted by Stabroek News, Gumbs said he was informed about Kissoon’s concerns. He said GWI developed problems at its nearby treatment plant which resulted in the water being cut yesterday. He said the hospital is equipped with a back-up system, but this only has the capacity to pump water to the maternity and female wards, the operating theatre and the laboratory.
“Because the pump does not have the capacity to pump water to all the areas, when the water cuts off we have in place large receptacles in the male and paediatric wards and other areas but it was unfortunate that today [yesterday] the paediatric container was not in place and parents had to fetch water direct from the tank.”
He added, “but I don’t know why she didn’t complain about GWI which is responsible for the water being off in the first place.”
Gumbs said when the new hospital is completed, the situation would be different as there would be seven or eight supersize water tanks, a large reservoir and heavy-duty water pumps.
The new hospital is set to be completed by the end of July or early August. The deadline has been extended on numerous occasions.
