Rehabilitation of fire-ravaged psychiatric hospital near completion

Rehabilitative works are almost completed at the National Psychiatric Hospital at New Amsterdam, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), which was destroyed by fire back in June and also earlier this month.
This was communicated by Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony on Thursday. Pegged at $26 million, works are ongoing to restore the 18-bed ward.
“We have been doing some work at the National Psychiatric Hospital. About a couple weeks ago, we had a fire and we had to redo that particular building. It’s almost complete and we’ll continue to work to expand the facilities there and to create better conditions for our patients. This investment certainly would have helped to restore the building and put in some additional protections there. It’s almost finished,” said the Health Minister.
A fire of unknown origin would have occurred just earlier this month, in which several patients escaped. Initial reports revealed that the facility’s nurse supervisor, Waveney Felix, was in her office when she observed smoke emanating from Chalet Four.
Felix further mentioned that she observed patients running out of Chalet Four and as a result, she immediately informed the New Amsterdam Fire Service. Shortly after, the Fire Service extinguished the fire. Several persons were questioned but by that time, a majority of the patients had gone missing. According to the Police at the time, out of the 19 patients at the Psychiatric Hospital, only five were accounted for.
Only in June, there was a fire at the Region Six facility during which patients had also escaped but were later returned. Some patients were injured in that June 5, 2021 fire which started sometime around 19:30h.
It was reported that a fight had broken out between three of the 31 male inmates housed in the Chalet 4 Male Admission Ward. As a result, the matron along with the supervisor and two male nurses went to the Chalet 4 Male Admission Ward, where on arrival they saw smoke coming from inside of the ward and heard patients shouting for help.
The Fire Service and Police were called. Firefighters managed to extinguish the fire but during that process, the patients broke out from a southern door and 9 of them escaped – some of whom had burn injuries about their bodies. Eleven of the other patients who received burns about their bodies were rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital, where they were treated. (G12)