Unhygenic conditions affect G/T Nursing School

Mar 16, 2011 News

– plumbing problems identified as cause

Classes at the Georgetown School of Nursing were suspended sometime after 11:00 hours yesterday owing to the unhygienic condition of the facility, a state of affairs which existed since Friday, according to reports.
A visit to the Nursing School yesterday left nothing to the imagination, but yet the administration of the school decided to facilitate classes as no directive was issued by the Ministry of Health to terminate the facility’s operation.
Close to 400 student nurses attend classes at the Nursing School with approximately 200 attending sessions yesterday. There have been reports that some students have developed sore throats and diarrhoea since the problem occurred. It is not clear whether the reported health issues have been linked to the unsanitary condition, but it was noted that both students and staff alike spend at least eight hours a day at the Nursing School.
Upon entry to the facility yesterday one was greeted with a pungent odour which overwhelmed the nostrils and discoloured water could be seen in sections of the bottom flat. The water from all indications appeared to be stagnant. There was no denying that the unhygienic situation had something to do with the facility’s septic system. It was apparently for this reason that a decision was taken to suspend the afternoon sessions for the past few days.
An official revealed that in an attempt to safeguard persons entering the school, cleaners were tasked with sprinkling a solution of disinfectant and bleach in the flooded section of the facility and other sections overwhelmed by the problem in an attempt to suppress the stench.
Though officials of the nursing school were tight-lipped, this newspaper was reliably informed that calls were made to Director of Health Sciences Education and other relevant Ministry of Health officials, but nothing was done up to yesterday morning to help appease the circumstances.
“We are concerned about the students and our own well being…but what can we do, we have not been granted permission by the authority to take any action.”
Though reluctant to comment on the dilemma, a senior official of the school disclosed that since it was initially believed that the problem was connected to the sewerage system, a decision was taken to call in the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) on Friday.

A nursing student contemplates her next move after flushing a clogged toilet

And since the matter was not addressed by GWI on Friday, it was revealed that the administration of the school was forced to suspend classes. Classes continued on Monday, with the exception of those that are conducted in the bottom flat of the building given its state, which was inclusive of clogged toilets that overflowed when attempts were made to flush them.
But although the breakdown of lavatory facilities had extended to the second and third floors of the building, student nurses were yesterday attempting to ensure that the facilities remained useable by manually pouring buckets of water into toilet bowls.

NOT GWI’S PROBLEM
Inspection by a GWI Sanitation Team yesterday revealed that the problem was an internal one and required the intervention of a plumber, according to GWI’s Sanitation Manager, Rensford Joseph. Joseph revealed that it was recognised that there was a clogging of the Nursing School’s septic system which was alleviated to some extent by the efforts of the Sanitation Team which also sought to advise administration officials to seek further technical support.
“We did what we could for them. There was a blocked gully and we cleared that but that was as much as we could have done. It was no fault of GWI…” Joseph asserted.
He had earlier in the day related that it was not until 15:30 hours on Monday that the situation was brought to the attention of the GWI. As a result, the sanitation team was dispatched to inspect and assess the situation.
Joseph had also speculated that the problem could have been linked to the heavy rainfall entering into the sewerage system, adding that the system was not designed to take off as much storm waters as have been recently experienced.
Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, said that it was after learning that the situation was an internal one, the Ministry had late yesterday afternoon dispatched a crew to the Nursing School to address the situation. He revealed that the problem had not affected the continuation of classes as some sessions were relocated to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
He anticipates that the Nursing School should resume normal operation by midday today.