HEALTH Minister Dr. Bheri Ramsaran told the State media, on Monday, that, following the collapse of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB), necessary steps will be taken to ensure that referrals of patients, to Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) from West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH), are handled in the best way they could. According to him, in light of the situation, they are trying to reduce the number of persons referred to the GPH.
However, emergency cases will be transported by means of water.
Ramsaran said the regional health authorities are capable of dealing with this situation and are in possession of the necessary resources.
“Any emergencies will have to, obviously, be taken by river. The regional authorities and the head of the hospital are very hands-on people and they have the resources in place to handle this situation. It’s simply using a different mode of transportation. Instead of the bridge, we will be using the water,” he said.
Ramsaran said, while the Region has, to its availability, a boat of its own to provide assistance in this regard, if the need be, the private operators will also be available to assist in this regard.
“As you know we have several private operators that can provide that service and, incidentally, the Region also has a boat which is used for administrative purposes,” he pointed out.
Minster Ramsaran expressed confidence in the Minister of Public Works, Mr. Robeson Benn and his team to get the job done in a timely manner.
“The Ministry of Works is on top of the job and they are trying to have the bridge up and running very soon and I am confident that they will get this done,” he added.
The Ministry of Public Works has announced that the DHB will be closed for a period of two days.