Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) General Secretary Kemton Alexander has disclosed that the Union was not informed of the unhealthy situation at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital.
His remarks came after he was questioned about concerns raised in sections of the media that patients with infectious diseases were being left in the A&E Unit for a numbers of days, as there was no space for them in the other wards.
According to the GPSU Secretary, while he was not informed of the current situation, he knows that in the past there were similar issues reported and those were dealt with. He also noted that the Union was going to look into the issue and take swift action where necessary.
The Hospital’s CEO, Alan Johnson told the media; however, that measures were already being put in place to facilitate the patients.
Johnson was shown photographs of a patient who was visibly sick lying on the floor of the A&E Unit with a respirator on.
Medical professionals have said that this is an issue that has been ongoing for the past three weeks. They are fearful that some of the patients, especially those infected with Tuberculosis (TB), that are left in the Unit for a number of days, will infect other patients.
Sources have also said that the Hospital has been overcrowded with patients not being treated occupying the chairs, beds and floors in the ward.
Public Health Minister, Dr George Norton, in an invited comment, admitted that the Ministry was aware of the ongoing issue at the Unit and had already begun to initiate projects to address this.
Noting that a long-term solution would only be derived after discussions at the level of Government, he said the Ministry had started to implement its short-term projects, which have gotten positive reviews from the public.
Dr Norton said the situation was generally triggered by a breakdown of other health facilities across the country. When patients visit these other health institutions and do not get the requisite medical treatment, they often end up at the country’s premier facility, the Georgetown Public Hospital. The patients are usually transferred to the hospital late at nights.
Norton said that this contributed to the build-up of persons thus causing overcrowding.
Additionally, with there being a lack of beds at the institution, the problem is amplified to an extent that has become unbearable for the medical personnel at the facility.
According to Norton, the Government is trying everything in its power to have this issue addressed immediately.
While a feasible solution would be to extend the Unit, the Minister pointed out that there was little space to facilitate an extension. He did say, however, that a possible approach would be to create an annex to the hospital.
In the interim, the Health Minister said doctors and nurses were being trained to become more advanced in their response to emergency cases so that overcrowding at the Unit was reduced.
Also, he noted that the Government was currently assessing health facilities across the country so that they would be able to offer similar services as the Georgetown Public Hospital, thereby reducing the congestion of the premier health facility.
