The New Amsterdam Hospital emergency unit is in dire need of overhauling, according to patients and relatives who are accessing the hospital on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
At June’s statutory meeting in Region Six, Sheriann Beharry, PPP/C councillor highlighted that doctors at the town’s main public hospital are encouraging patients to visit their private clinics. Beharry strongly condemned the act of doctors using the public hospital to market their private offices.
Beharry at several previous statutory meetings had raised the issue of the hospital not having certain important drugs that emergency and clinic patients need.
There is talk in the entire Region Six that the hospital is known as the “Panadol hospital”, since according to patients that is the tablet the hospital mainly has to offer.
Stabroek News was present at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital on Saturday with a patient from 7 am to minutes after 4 pm.
When one arrives at an emergency unit, the attendants supposedly stationed at the emergency unit are always wandering around the hospital’s compound, most times on ‘smoke breaks’.
Stabroek News observed several persons arriving at the hospital in need of wheelchairs and assistance from attendants but they were nowhere in sight.
One man who suffered a stroke a few years back was seen wheeling himself into the emergency unit while the guard held the door open for him, help he was grateful for. The attendant at minutes past 10 am was on his second smoke break just outside of the hospital’s driveway.
It was evident that most doctors at the hospital are working around the clock to ensure that patients are treated with the best care.
Stabroek News noticed that doctors were present at the emergency unit on Saturday checking several times on their patients, getting to better know their health history and patients’ relatives.
Doctors were noticed ordering several tests. However, the support services are not functioning well.
On Saturday almost 70% of the persons present were diagnosed with various conditions after several tests but were told to go purchase the items prescribed at the pharmacy located at the Bristol Mall in New Amsterdam.
Relatives of patients on Saturday were heard complaining throughout the day about the lack of medication at the hospital.
