Water supply back to normal at West Demerara Hospital

Aug 14, 2008 News

— Measures to be put in place to improve connections

The operations at the West Demerara Regional Hospital returned to normalcy yesterday following protest action the previous day by staffers who claimed that they were faced with a major water crisis which has left in its wake some very revealing findings.

During a visit of the facility on Tuesday various categories of workers refused to render service as a means of retaliating against the situation which they claimed had not been addressed by the administration of the hospital since August 1.

Several patients as a result were forced to seek alternative medical care since even the doctors on call did not avail themselves due to the lack of potable water.

Administrator of the Hospital, Ms Bhoomatie Surujdin, said that restoration of the ideal water supply was reliant on the service provided by the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI).

She speculated that there was a problem with the water entity’s ability to supply the required pressure of water to the facility thus hindering the ability of staffers to operate effectively.

However, after an inspection of the hospital’s facility yesterday by GWI officials, it was deduced that the problem was based within the internal plumbing system of the hospital.

This newspaper was informed that several leaks were found in connections leading to various parts of the facility and there was a problem of water wastage caused by persons leaving on taps.

It was revealed to this newspaper that GWI does not provide a 24-hour service, but rather facilitates distribution at 05:00 hours to 13:00 hours and then from 17:00 hours to 21:00 hours during which time efforts are made to maximise the supply to the hospital.

A source within the hospital revealed that there are instances when persons would leave taps on during periods that the service is halted thus resulting in massive wastage of water when the flow returns.

Another revealing detection was that the hospital still utilises old asbestos lines that should have been condemned a long time ago.

An official disclosed that asbestos pipes have a life span which, once exceeded, will crumble and therefore can result in water wastage, sometimes undetected.

As such it was recommended that the hospital replaces its asbestos lines with PVC pressure pipes to improve its potable water supply.

Efforts to contact the Hospital’s Administrator to secure a comment on the state of the plumbing system yesterday were futile.

However, this newspaper was informed that GWI officials along with hospital plumbing staffers were attempting to rectify the situation yesterday.

Meanwhile, reports from the hospital medical staffers yesterday were that the water pressure is back to normal and patients are being tended to, though they expressed some disgust that it took a protest action for measures to be put in place.

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