Hospital security to be upgraded

Visitors to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital will now be subjected to searches, in light of the bomb threat that caused the evacuation of the institution last week Thursday.{{more}}

Minister of Health and the Environment Dr. Douglas Slater, speaking at a joint press conference called by hospital officials, the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) and top brass of the police force at police headquarters on the afternoon of the incident, said that it is a measure that needs to be taken, given the seriousness of the act, which he described, among other things as “nasty, ugly, cowardly and irresponsible”.

“It seems like if we are forced to become more security conscious at the hospital,” the Minister said.

“I hope now that we really most likely would have to (conduct searches), the general public would understand and support what ever actions we take, because it is very difficult to go through that again.”

The Minister acknowledged that although in the past searches were considered, they may now be implemented after the issue was discussed at a debriefing earlier that afternoon.

He said that the general public would not be inconvenienced because of the searches.

“We try as much as possible to facilitate the general public, the patients and their relatives, because the hospital is a place where you want people to be as comfortable as possible, and that would involve having their loved ones near to them.”

“Unfortunately, with acts like these, we will have to revisit that.”(JJ)