– councillor calls on gov’t for probe

By Rabindra Rooplall

THE X-ray Unit in the compound of the Leguan Cottage Hospital was constructed 12 years ago but was never used, and more alarmingly the X-ray machine bought for the building was never even taken out of its box.

Therefore the referral of patients to other health institutions continued despite the availability of the necessary infrastructure and equipment.

According to Dr. Kamal Roy Narine who is a councillor on the island, the hospital has about 20 staffers, including two therapists but no porter and most cases are referrals to health institutions off of Leguan.
He noted that the building has electricity and all the relevant departments inside but under the previous administration nothing was done to get the facility up and running although it has everything that is required.

LAUNCH AN INVESTIGATION
“It’s like jobs and kickbacks were given to friends who needed work and after the work was completed the concept was abandoned, no one wants to take any blame, the government should launch an investigation and penalize persons responsible for this,” Dr Narine said.

He explained that upon inquiry officials informed him that the building must have a lead shielding for radiation protection. He explained that the electrons within a person’s body would be affected if the x-ray machine is operated without the lead shield. Dr. Narine said this is a minor issue since a 14X12 room with lead shield could have been built to operationalize the unit where millions of dollars were already spent.

“The entire building doesn’t need to be leaded; all that is needed is a 14X12 room, so instead of utilizing and fixing the building they took a small section of the building and made it for therapist, but the original plan for the X-Ray department was dysfunctional,” he noted.

“So to spend all that money then to let a nominal cost prevent the entire building from being used is ignorance, this is the type of things that the new administration should look into so Leguan can be more efficiently operated.”

NON-FUNCTIONAL GENERATOR
Another issues at the same hospital is the non-functional generator which has been down for the past three years, Dr. Narine said he learned that although the generator is not working the fuel which is assigned to the machine was still being supplied but was being diverted by an administrative official for his personal use.

It was also noted that the same administrator removed three freezers from the hospital some years ago and they were not returned.

Last January Public Health Ministry officials visited Leguan and pledged their commitment to address all necessary concerns of both the staff and patients.

The visit by Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings and her team allowed for inspection of the health facilities, along with interaction with the staff.

This interaction brought to light concerns and challenges faced by the healthcare providers who made several suggestions on how the issues could be dealt with.
Among the challenges highlighted were administrative issues, such as the need for more porters along with equipment that includes fans and lights.

Minister Cummings had pointed out that it is government’s objective to reduce the inequities in the delivery of healthcare to allow for easier access by everyone.