Early morning fire destroys GPHC buildings

Aug 14, 2008 News

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– mentally disturbed man believed to have started conflagration
An early morning fire believed to be the work of an arsonist has destroyed several buildings in the southern section of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) compound.
The buildings housing the Male and Female Observation Wards, the Medical Out-Patient Department (MOPD) and the Patient Care Assistant Teaching Facility were destroyed by the fire which was reportedly set by a male psychiatric patient.
Reports are that the fire started sometime around 05:45 hours.
The suspected arsonist, according to reports, has since been taken into police custody at the Alberttown Police Station and has reportedly admitted to setting a mattress on fire, which subsequently developed into the devastating conflagration.
Fortunately all of the patients have since been accounted for except for a few who seized the opportunity to discharge themselves.
Meanwhile, a source close to the hospital said the alleged perpetrator was reportedly seen setting fire to a mattress in the Male Observation Ward. At that point, patients and nurses in the ward began running to safety, as the man ran out of the compound.
He was spotted by an MMC security patrol which gave chase along Thomas Street and eventually caught up with him.
Reports stated that as the man was being arrested by a security officer, a woman reported to them that he had just snatched her gold chain.
A search was immediately conducted and the woman’s chain was found in his pants pocket. The man was subsequently handed over to police at the Alberttown Station.
A press release from the GPHC, meanwhile, stated that the cause of the fire is still unknown but preliminary investigations revealed that it began in the Male Observation Ward and quickly spread to the adjoining buildings.
The release confirmed that at around 05:45 hrs yesterday, the GPHC suffered a fire resulting in the destruction of several buildings on the southern side of the compound.
The Guyana Fire Service was summoned and responded immediately.  However, despite their efforts, the buildings were destroyed. 
The GPHC also lost the building which housed the Patient Care Assistant (PCA) classroom which was fully equipped with computers, among other things.
The release further stated that the patients in the Observation Wards were immediately evacuated and suffered no injuries as a consequence of the fire.
“As a precautionary measure, patients in the Maternity Unit were initially evacuated but were subsequently returned to the Unit after it was established that the fire no longer posed a danger to their well being.”
According to the release, all of the patients from the Unit are accounted for except for four persons who chose self discharge and the hospital is currently trying to locate these patients to ascertain their safety.
The release advised that patients who would normally visit the MOPD seek treatment at their Health Centres and Regional Hospitals while alternative arrangements are being made for the housing of this important department.
“We appeal to the public for their patience and understanding over the next few days as we try to restore this service.”
In addition, the Minister of Health in a statement has signaled his support to the hospital as they intend to move some of the long-term patients to the National Psychiatric Hospital.
Meanwhile, as the immediate environs of Thomas and Middle Streets, North Cummingsburg was transformed by the raging fire, scores of spectators looked on in awe as members of the Guyana Fire Service attempted valiantly to contain the blaze. For at least three hours the firemen tried as they could to put out the blaze and prevent it from spreading to the building which houses the Genito Urinary Medicine (GUM) clinic which is in proximity to the structures which were gutted.
Even as the firemen carried out their duties, hospital staffers were seen removing what may be deemed as important records from the GUM clinic.
At several other buildings in the compound, nurses were seen evacuating patients. These included mothers with newborns and other patients.
 Also too at the scene crewmen from the Guyana Power and Light Company were seen disconnecting live wire from lamp poles around the area.
A source close to the hospital said that prior to the fire there was a state of pandemonium at the Male Observation Ward.

The source said the series of events began to unfold sometime around 03:30 hours yesterday when nurses, with the assistance of some four internal security officers, attempted to administer drugs to the patients in the Male Psychiatric Ward. According to the source, some of the patients were also fighting among themselves. However, the patients somehow managed to overpower the security officers, eventually inflicting injuries.
This newspaper was told that when the security officers went to seek medical attention at the Accident and Emergency Unit, they were alerted that a fire had been started in the ward, forcing the nurses and other patients run to safety.
Kaieteur News has been reliably informed that the man who is currently in police custody is no stranger to the police or the public. Some two weeks ago the same man who was a patient of the Observation Ward was reportedly beaten by another patient in the ward. Following that incident, a relative of the man had asked the police to keep him in custody after he was not re-admitted to the Observation Ward.
The man somehow managed to escape from police at the Brickdam Police Station but was subsequently captured and taken back into custody. It is still not clear when he was released from police custody. However, a source close to the hospital said that on Sunday last the same man attempted to hang himself in the Observation Ward but was rescued by a nurse on duty.

 

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