Latest update April 4th, 2025 5:09 PM
Aug 03, 2008 News
Pandemonium broke out once again at the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Psychiatric Ward, this time because of the death of a female inmate.
Reports are that, at around 4:00 hours yesterday, 21-year-old Natasha Vieira was strangled by another female patient of the ward while lying on her bed.
This newspaper understands that after Vieira fell unconscious, her attacker dragged her to the bathroom and turned on the shower, apparently with the intention of reviving her.
Another patient went into the bathroom and turned off the shower. A source said that, at that point, the woman who took Natasha into the bathroom dragged her back to her bed and left her on the ground.
One of the patients then went to inform the nurse about what was going on in the ward. By that time Natasha was already dead, the source said. Hospital officials remain tight-lipped on the entire incident and what really transpired.
A release from the hospital stated that the body of Natasha Vieira, a patient of the Female Observation Ward, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), was discovered next to her bed at around 04:30 hrs on Saturday, August 3, 2008.
“Vieira’s body bore marks of violence around the neck. The 21-year-old was seen by a doctor and pronounced dead at 05:00 hrs,” the release added. As such, this incident has raised a series of questions surrounding the woman’s death.
Police sources told Kaieteur News that the nurses who were on duty claimed they were in another room when the incident occurred and were not aware of what was taking place.
Up to late yesterday afternoon, Vieira’s assailant was still in the psychiatric ward. Sources say that she was not arrested because she is a mental patient.
Many who frequent the hospital, and even staffers, expressed shock at Vieira’s death. Natasha, according to staffers, was known to many in and around the hospital.
One staffer who was really close to the dead woman said that the now dead Natasha was abandoned at the hospital’s Paediatric Ward some nine years ago. Nurses who cared for Natasha soon became very fond of her.
“Tasha would never trouble anyone; all she needed was attention, and we cared for her. She was very sweet… every time she sees me she would call out,” one person recalled.
Others around the hospital are of the opinion that Natasha should not have been kept at the Psychiatric Ward. “She wasn’t a mental patient; it’s just that she was retarded,” one man said.
Others claimed that nurses who worked at the female Psychiatric Ward knew that the woman who attacked Natasha was violent, but seemingly did nothing.
“A few days ago the same woman attacked me, but it only because I am a man she really didn’t bother too much with me.”
Persons have also questioned the decision to have the patient who killed Natasha still being kept in the ward, where there are other patients. In addition, the issue of security for the nurses was also raised.
“Many of the nurses on the ward are females, and it is almost impossible for those nurses to hold down or even restrain patients.”
Only Thursday last, a male patient of the psychiatric ward was beaten by another patient. During the incident the patient, 20-year-old Leonard Nelson, was attacked and stabbed with a broken piece of wood.
Prior efforts to secure a comment from an official on both incidents proved futile.
However, yesterday, the hospital, in a release, stated: “The Kaieteur News article captioned ‘Chaos erupts at GPHC’s Psychiatric Ward – Inmate beats, stabs other patients,’ which appeared on Page 15 of the Saturday, August 2, 2008 edition, is completely inaccurate.”
The statement continued that the incident described in the article never occurred on Thursday, July 31 or Friday, August 1, 2008 at the Psychiatric Ward. “This is supported by persons who were present at the ward on both days.
This is clearly a case where the newspaper was given misleading and false information.” The GPHC is therefore requesting a retraction from the Kaieteur News, it added.
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