1 critical as fire, violence erupts at National Psychiatric Hospital

One person is now a critical patient at the New Amsterdam Hospital and several others are injured after patients of the National Psychiatric Hospital (NPH) started a fire and subsequently attacked each other.
The incident occurred at the facility situated at Fort Canje, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), on Saturday evening.
Reports are that the fire was started by inmates who had become violent and aggressive.
This publication understands that 32 patients were housed in the admission ward and there was only one nurse attached to the ward at the time of the incident.
A senior official told this publication that the Police and the Guyana Fire Service arrived in a timely manner and the firefighters were able to extinguish the small blaze without having to enter the building.
The official said the staff members were taken to a safe place as violence erupted in the ward.

A second fire was started, again by the inmates, which caused some of the patients to suffer from smoke inhalation.
According to the official, the second fire was set in the ceiling of the building. She related that some of the patients succeeded in ripping out the door made of iron bars and escaped.
This resulted in a mass exodus of patients trying to make their way out of the compound of the NPH.
According to a medical person on the scene, one of the patients approached him and asked if he was, “working taxi.”
Meanwhile, one hire car operator had gone to the institution to report that a man approached him on Canje Bridge which is adjacent to the NPH and told him that there was a fire at the hospital and he escaped and was seeking a drop to Rose Hall Town which is about 16 miles away.
Meanwhile, 11 patients were taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital for treatment for injuries and smoke inhalation.
The medical official said on Saturday evening that arrangements were being made to have the patients transported to the Port Mourant Hospital, with the exception of the ones who are at the New Amsterdam Hospital.
Police had been assisting in recapturing those patients.
This publication understands that many of the patients at the admission ward are considered violent.
Only recently one patient was murdered by other patients and another injured after some patients ripped out the iron bars to the windows of the ward and began attacking each other. (Andrew Carmichael)