Ward C2 of the district hospital was flooded on Saturday morning.
IN DIRE NEED OF HELP
Tue, 07/05/2016 - 12:00am
By:
Jenique Belgrave
Staff at the St. Philip District Hospital are asking for help from the Ministry of Health.
Fed up and frustrated by issues with plumbing, faulty equipment and a lack of security, the employees want to know when their pleas will be heard.
One staff member described an incident last Saturday where water gushed into ward C2 after a patient inadvertently hit an exposed pipe, resulting in flooding in that area and in the downstairs C1 ward.
“It started running down through the walls and the flooring into the downstairs wall. Water started coming through the electrical fixtures and into the other floor,” the individual, who requested anonymity, said.
It was not the first time that such an instance happened, as she pointed out that on several occasions, burst pipes or clogged drains in one ward had resulted in flooding in others.
Pointing out that most of the facility’s equipment is either not functioning well or not working at all, she noted that all of the patients’ clothing and bedding have to be taken to the Psychiatric Hospital for washing.
“Most of the equipment up there does not ever work. The laundry department is not working... Most of the beds are rusty and old. We do not have the modern-day beds like what they have at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital... We have a lot of faulty equipment and we have to make the best of it,” she explained to The Barbados Advocate.
Another staff member also raised concerns with the lack of fire exits, adding that with only one ramp evacuation efforts would be very slow.
“Management tell us that everything we have to document and write a letter and we do not know whether these are getting to the relevant authorities in the Ministry, because the Ministry needs to know what is going on in the hospital and what kind of conditions the staff is working under. We know the building is old, but the authorities need to come and do something better because all they do to that hospital is patch here and there,” she complained.
In its response to the recent flooding incident, investigations revealed that the ministry sent personnel from the technical department, an electrician and plumber to do an assessment.
The matter is expected to be raised today as the ministry meets with all the heads of the various district hospitals for an annual meeting.