Patient care system at GPHC leaves much to be desired

May 16, 2009 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Although over the recent years, the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) has undergone some remarkable and positive changes in its infrastructure, the poor quality of varying services offered there remains an underlying issue which needs to be addressed.
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy who has been a truly dedicated and hardworking minister and has done much to improve the quality of health care offered to the public at the GPHC, must be commended for his efforts, especially in the area of HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment offered at this institution.

However, one major problem which remains unresolved is the proper administration of the GPHC.
Frustrated relatives of sick patients in the Accident and Emergency Unit being ‘barked at by nurses and security guards’ who seem to ignore the fact that when a loved one has been lying for hours on a gurney waiting for care in an Emergency Unit, there is cause for frustration on part of the relatives.

The actions of those employed to work and oversee the operations of the Accident and Emergency Unit defeat the entire purpose of this unit which was designed to give prompt treatment to emergency cases.
It just takes basic common sense to administrate this unit since it can be a matter of life or death for some people, if they have to wait for too long for care.

In the past, there have been numerous complaints about this unit. Yet there seems to be little done to help the plight of the public, especially the poor people who invariably flock the GPHC for treatment, since they can’t afford private treatment.
Nurses and attendants allegedly accept ‘a small piece’ from concerned relatives of sick patients housed at the GPHC.

This would mean that if you give the nurse or the attendant a ‘small piece’ then your relative might enjoy a bit more comfort. I strongly condemn this.
Nurses and attendants are employed to provide a service to the public and are often accused of misusing their office to extract money from poor, anxious patients and their relatives. If they are unhappy with their meagre wages, then they should vent their frustrations on those responsible for their plight and not poor, helpless patients.

I can remember when my niece was giving birth at the GPHC, we slipped some money to the nurse who was assisting with the delivery. My niece informed us once she was out of the institution that that money did wonders, and the nurse was more attentive to her after receiving it. This is so wrong, as what happens to those people who cannot afford this? It is worrying.

The patients’ toilets are not fit for human use. They are in such a bad condition, it makes one sick to see what their loved one has to use when housed at the GPHC.
The long queues of patients like sardines in a tin at the outpatient department are sickening. Even at the other offices within the hospital, when you are given an appointment for 9 am, you think you are going to be seen at 9 am? It’s sad when you get there that you find out that there are about 50 other patients in front of you.

Why can’t the hospital work in an organised manner with appointments for patients? It makes you feel so undignified when you arrive at a time when you are asked to and then you are made to sit with a horde of others; if you are lucky and can slip the receptionist a ‘small piece’ you may be able to see the doctor long before your turn. If you can’t, then you sit and suffer.
Nurses on the whole in the wards are rude and speak to patients and relatives in a demeaning manner. Very few nurses are what one would call ‘gems’ at the GPHC.

Most of the nurses feel as if they are doing you a favour by taking care of your loved one. Little do they realise that it is our taxpayers’ money which goes into paying them their wages.
It is my fervent hope that our Honourable Minister of Health, who is much respected in the health fraternity, kindly notes some of my concerns and realises that not all is as rosy as it seems at the GPHC.
Our Minister might have the right approach, but if he doesn’t have the right people in place to run this institution, then all his efforts will go to waste.

First and foremost, I think that the nurses at the GPHC should go through some appropriate training on how to talk to patients and how important their role is in saving peoples’ lives.
For too long there have been avoidable deaths at the GPHC due to negligence. Sadly, every time you hear of a poor patient’s plight, the patient or their family are always the ones to be blamed. It’s never the hospital or their mismanagement.
Taxpayer

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Patient care system at GPHC leaves much to be desired

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