Dear Editor,
I read with much concern the article in July 9 Stabroek News ‘MP slams conditions at Linden Hospital children’s ward.’ This story informed us in no uncertain terms how riled up our Region 10 MP became upon encountering the “deplorable” state of the children’s ward where her five months’ old son was a patient. The MP, Vanessa Kissoon, had every reason to become irritable about the unacceptable conditions under which her child was being cared for. Lindeners refer to treatment received from this hospital as “rough and regular,” and those who can afford it seek medical treatment elsewhere. It is sickening to hear the reports and stories told by those who have been patients there or who have cared for relatives there, or even are just visitors.
Hardly anyone leaves without being disturbed. One woman complained to me about the benches being thick with dirt accumulated over the years and that she refused to sit on them. The complaints are just too many. And here is where I need to repeat what I’ve been saying about those who have been placed in leadership positions: To effectively function and execute their responsibilities, they need to move around to get first-hand information and on-the-spot experience. This LHC is one such area where this applies, but there are other troubling and frustrating areas that need serious attention. The quicker our top functionaries wake up to the realization that they are servants of the people and not the other way around, the better things would be.
And even though, as I understood it, MP Kissoon ‘prapa carry aan,’ I need to give her a star for one thing: She was indeed honest enough to say that she got help because of people she knew and because of those who recognised she was an MP. She correctly asked about the ordinary people, who must contend with this state of affairs daily, fetching their own buckets of water, and who know no one. The CEO was in order in stating that the MP should have blazed Guyana Water Inc in the first place, because it is still limping along and struggling to put things together, but still, that does not take away from the flaws and defects of the hospital. As was reported, she was informed that “this situation existed for quite some time despite several reports to the hospital authorities.”
This brings me back to my point about leaders moving about to observe the manner in which people are treated. If the MP had not had a reason to take her son there, she probably would not have known about this deplorable paediatric ward. But what of other leaders in our community? Were they too, ignorant about this situation? Or are they just being treated differently and so have become ‘blind.’ The falling apart of things always leads to special privileges being given to the chosen few. And this is the way our society has become, and again, we do need leaders who are servants of the people and not those who want to be served by the people.
I do hope that when this new ‘state-of-the-art’ hospital is open, it will not only be a spanking new building, but there will also be a substantial and qualitative improvement in medical care of the kind which once gave the McKenzie hospital its reputation.
And on another issue, I need also to comment on the decision taken by the Linden Electricity Company Inc to relocate their office where light bills are paid from Pine Street to the General Office. This is an unnecessary added burden, small as it may seem, on the majority of people, who are already struggling and scraping to pay their bills. The LEC can more than afford an office somewhere ‘out front’ to take care of this aspect of business.
Yours faithfully,
Frank Fyffe