Dear Editor,
I wish to bring to the attention of the general public some of the many deficiencies persons face at the Georgetown Public Hospital. However, I welcome Minister Ramsammy’s idea of a specialist surgical hospital.
While his proposal will benefit Guyana greatly, many patients in the male surgical ward #1 (the old doctors’ quarters) are faced with a number of problems which should never be experienced in a hospital. The floor is in a deplorable state. The so-called metal cupboards which are used to store patients’ belongings are ready for the dumpsite. Cobwebs can be seen all over the ceiling. As of Tuesday, January 25, 2011, beds had to be shifted because of water dripping from above. Space is scarce; as you try to turn around you either bump into another bed or one of those stands they hang IV drips on. This scenario reminds me of a documentary where an emergency make-shift hospital was built for mass casualties; no proper detailed analysis was done and as such the purpose of it was defeated.
Editor, these deficiencies should never occur at a hospital whose responsibility is to care for the sick and not make the sick worse. When one visits a hospital he/she is expected to be treated to improve his/her health and not the other way around.
I was a patient of Kingstown General Hospital in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and rest assured the conditions there far supersede ours. The question to be asked is, what is wrong with Guyana? The Minister needs to show the general public more of the fruits of our labour. He and his associates earn our hard-earned tax dollars.
Yours faithfully,
Kirtley A Williams