IMPACT ON GUYANA

Fire destroys Observation Ward among other GPHC sections in Guyana

Fire destroys Observation Ward among other GPHC sections in Guyana

Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) Wednesday lost several buildings in its complex to a fire, which started in the male section of the Observation Ward (OW) where mentally ill patients are kept.

The burnt places housed the male and female sections of the OW, the walk-in Medical Out-Patients Department (MOPD) and the Patient Care Assistant (PCA) teaching facility, which was fully equipped with computers and other expensive equipment.

Nurses displaced by the fire

The structures were completely destroyed but there were no fatalities, injuries or other health related consequences amongst patients or staff as a result of the blaze, the origin of which was still not determined up to press time.

Reports said the conflagration, first seen around 5:45 a.m., quickly spread to the adjoining edifices. Units of the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) responded promptly and ranks fought valiantly to control and contain the flames, while staffers hurriedly evacuated patients in the OW and nearby Maternity Unit.

However, those in the latter section were subsequently returned to their accommodation after it was established that the firemen had succeeded in containing the situation.

The OW patients have since been accommodated elsewhere. In a statement after the disaster, Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, reported that the hospital had accounted for all its patients.

He said he was happy to note that the temporary evacuation of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Wards was handled smoothly and with a great deal of competence.

Minister Ramsammy said the ministry supports the hospital’s intention to move some of the long-term patients, who were in the destroyed male and female sections of the OW, to the National Psychiatric Hospital, at Canje, in Berbice.

He expressed gratitude to the GFS, the Police, Guyana Water Inc. (GWI) and Guyana Power & Light (GPL) for their quick responses and for ensuring a speedy restoration of services in the immediate vicinity of the destruction.

In the aftermath, GPHC advised sick persons, who would normally visit the MOPD, to seek treatment at their respective health centres and regional hospitals while alternative arrangements are made for other accommodation of that department.

A GPHC release appealed to the public to exercise patience and understanding over the next few days as it tries to restore the MOPD service.

The female section of the OW had been under scrutiny recently after the murder of an inmate, allegedly by another, on August 3.

Twenty-one-year-old Natasha Vieira, who had been living there for several years, was found dead on the floor next to her bed and the marks of violence on her body suggested that she may have been strangled. Investigations into the unlawful killing are still ongoing.

(Chronicle)