Police in Berbice are on the hunt for a patient of the Psychiatric Hospital in New Amsterdam who escaped from the facility on Saturday evening after a fire broke out. Initially, six patients had escaped but the Police have managed to recapture five, who were immediately handed over to the institution.
It was reported that a fire broke out at the hospital on Saturday evening following a fight among three of the 31 male patients housed in the Chalet 4 Male Admission Ward.
Firefighters at the National Psychiatric Hospital (NPH) at Fort Canje, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), on Saturday evening
As a result, the matron along with the supervisor and two male nurses went to the area and upon their arrival, they saw smoke emanating from inside of the ward and heard patients shouting for help.
The Police and the Guyana Fire Service were summoned and arrived in a timely manner, thus resulting in the firefighters extinguishing the small blaze without having to enter the building.
This publication was informed that during the fire, the staff members were taken to a safe place as violence erupted in the ward.
A second fire was started, again by the patients, resulting in some of the patients suffering from smoke inhalation.
As a result, 11 patients were taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital for treatment.
Not too long ago a patient was murdered and another patient injured after some patients ripped out the iron bars to the windows of the ward and began attacking each other.
The dead man has been identified as Rohan Satish Sunthgulm of Canefield, East Canje, while the injured person is Steve Roberts, also of the same village.
The sister of the murdered man explained that her brother attended a clinic at the National Psychiatric Hospital because he was epileptic and had injured himself on May 21.
He was then taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital and subsequently admitted a patient at the Psychiatric Hospital.
Two days later, on May 23, the family received news that he was injured. This publication understands that he received a stab to his neck, lacerations to his head, and his forehead was badly swollen.
Sunthgulm died whilst receiving care at the New Amsterdam Hospital.
