– as more people utilising services than before
The New Amsterdam Hospital needs to be better managed. This is according to Region Six Chairman David Armogan, who made this comment on Thursday when the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) met to discuss issues affecting the region.
The Region Six Health Committee has recommended transferring certain part-time Government workers in order to address several issues affecting the operation of the New Amsterdam Hospital. Armogan has, however, pointed out that doing so would only be transferring the problem to another department.
Expressing his opinion that what is needed is proper supervision at the medical facility, Armagon declared,
“If you do not supervise them properly, they would be doing all sorts of things.”
Councillor Colin Moore, who was at the meeting, said many patients who go to the New Amsterdam Hospital leave without being attended to because of the lengthy period they are forced to wait.
“Not just the long waiting, but the quality of service that you are not getting at the New Amsterdam Hospital,” he noted.
Suggesting that maintenance of the washroom facilities should be tendered to private contractors, Moore also said,
“Clearly, the management of that hospital is not working in the best interest of the people.”
Acknowledging that citizens of Region Six deserve better,
Moore agreed that better management is needed at the New Amsterdam Hospital, and cited instances when dangerous animals were found in the building.
Informing the RDC that wild animals are invading the institution, Moore declared,
“I know that in Region Six we do not have a zoo, but it does not mean that we must turn New Amsterdam Hospital into a zoo. Pregnant mothers at New Amsterdam Hospital battling with ‘manakoo’ [Opossums, also called ‘Kumbie’ in Guyana] and rats in all sizes. I am not even talking about the stray cats in New Amsterdam Hospital, snakes and alligators in the hospital. You can have the infrastructure, but if you do not put proper management at the facility, it is a waste of time.”
Pointing out that there was only one case in which an alligator was found at the institution, Armogan declared, “The security guards need to pay attention too! At the end of it all, it comes down to management; but, at the same time, the statistics are showing that more people are utilising the services of the New Amsterdam Hospital than used to be (the case) before.”
Speaking to the RDC, Chief Executive Officer of the New Amsterdam Hospital, Dr Bob Ramnauth, pointed out that the institution is unique in that it was constructed with a canal passing through the compound, and that is where reptiles enter the facility.
He also noted that a playground is situated next to the hospital, and when balls are hit into the hospital compound, players coming to retrieve them would remove sections of the facility’s fence, thereby creating another avenue through which animals enter the institution’s compound.
“In addition to that, the number of patients that we are seeing at the New Amsterdam Hospital has almost tripled, and the same facility is handling that. We have increased the number of doctors from within the 30s to almost 70 now. We have increased the number of nurses by over 200, but the demand at the institution is what is consuming our resources,” the CEO divulged.
Declaring that several new services have been added to those being offered at the New Amsterdam Hospital, the CEO said, “Now we have over 60 cancer patients who would have had to travel to Georgetown for treatment. We would have trained cancer nurses, gotten special medication, and we are now helping those cancer patients from Region Six to access that treatment here, as opposed to having to travel every two or three weeks to Georgetown.”
Further, Dr Ramnauth explained that with a new hospital being built at Number 75 Village, Corentyne and another at Bath Settle ment in Region Five, the burden on the New Amsterdam Hospital would eventually be significantly reduced.
