Vast revamp works at NA hospital amid “unhygienic” complaints – Min Anthony

The New Amsterdam Hospital is currently under extensive rehabilitation works on both the inner and outer structure, after complaints surfaced about the unsanitary condition of the facility.

Works to revamp the New Amsterdam Hospital have commenced

According to Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony, reports of the unsanitary state at the regional hospital are being addressed through measures to clean the hospital frequently and maintain the outside surroundings.
“We’ve had some reports that it’s in an unhygienic state and we have taken measures to make sure that we fix that. I’m told that we have put in place a mechanism whereby the maids clean the hospital at least three times per shift. We also have in the compound itself, there were complaints that the grass was overgrown. We have been cutting the grass on a regular basis. We had a clean-up, making sure that the drains and so are properly cleaned,” Dr Anthony related.
The Ministry will also repaint the structure. It was assured that in the coming weeks, this will lead to vast improvement and cleaner surroundings for staffers and patients.
“Right now, they’re doing some work in terms of cleaning the outer wall of the hospital and that is power washing the hospital on the outside. After they finish that form of cleaning, they’d be doing some repainting. I think in another week or two, from the outer side of the building, there will be vast improvement and the compound right now is pretty clean. With the works that they have been doing in the building, the cleaning itself and so forth, we would have changed what would have been an unhygienic state to one that is very clean right now.”
Meanwhile, another issue to be fixed is the sewage system that is currently blocked, affecting other systems within the hospital. An estimate was completed and those works will commence once a contractor is assigned.
“We’re right now in the process of getting a contractor who would be able to fix those problems. I’m told that for quite some time, at least more than six years, no preventative maintenance was done on the sewage system so this is something that we really need to fix urgently. Because of that, some of the toilets and baths, there is some kind of backup of sewage in the system,” the Minister highlighted.
A letter was published in Guyana Times this week, which highlighted some of the pressing concerns.
It detailed, “The situation which is more likely the scenario here is that there is a great degree of laxity where the upkeep of the grounds is concerned, where animals are ‘invited’ in due to unkept grounds. And I would like to highlight the fact that, even in the interior of the building, which is the concern of this new mother, regular mopping and sanitisation is woefully lacking, posing a health risk to patients of the institution”.