Patient sets fire to National Psychiatric Hospital male ward

Quick action by staff of National Psychiatric Hospital averted disaster after a patient set fire to a section of the medical facility’s Male Admission Ward on Friday afternoon.
Guyana Times understands that the patient lit the vinolay covering one of the tables in the ward.

After other inmates alerted one of the nurses on duty, the fire was quickly put out.
Nevertheless, two units of the New Amsterdam Fire went to the scene along with police officers from Central Police Station in response to calls made initially.
As soon as the situation was put under control, the inmate was isolated.
Back in June, one person died from burns and several were injured after patients of the National Psychiatric Hospital started a fire and subsequently attacked each other.
The fire was reportedly started by inmates who had become violent and aggressive.
During that incident, there were 32 patients were housed in the admission ward and there was only one nurse attached to the ward at the time of the incident.
After the fire was put out, a second fire was started, again by the inmates, which caused some of the patients to suffer from smoke inhalation. Eleven patients were taken to the New Amsterdam Hospital for treatment for injuries and smoke inhalation, one subsequently died.
Additionally, sever dad escaped and was subsequently recaptured. Then on August 7, a fire of unknown origin broke out at the hospital but no one was injured.
Following that fire, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony, put measures in place to ensure that security was beefed up at the hospital. The Minister then disclosed that some $26 million had been invested for the restoration of the hospital, to provide better living conditions for patients.