We did not get an alert – DeShong

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Luis deShong says officials at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) were not alerted to the possibility of heavy rains, which caused excessive flooding of the ground floors of the institution on Christmas Eve.{{more}}

“All I know, is that as a citizen, at 6:30 a.m., on Christmas Eve day, 705 radio said a trough system was supposed to dump a lot rain on St Vincent. Usually, when the weather pattern changes and develops into a system which is likely to negatively impact the island, we get an alert,” deShong told SEARCHLIGHT yesterday.

deShong however declined to say from whom the alert normally comes.

As a result of the flooding, deShong said that several units and wards at the hospital had to be temporarily relocated on that day.

He said the pediatric unit (Children’s Ward) had to be removed quickly and relocated to the Maternity B ward on the upper level along with the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Maternity A was also shifted to Maternity B.

According to deShong, they even had to make use of some of the private rooms for the patients to deliver their babies.

Up to press time, the water shortage problem was still adversely affecting the hospital – a situation which deShong described as their “principal problem.” He noted that water had been restored in some parts of the hospital, and they had received assurance from the Central Water and Sewage Authority (CWSA) that the water supply would be restored throughout the entire hospital by today, Friday.

DeShong said on Christmas morning, the Ministry of Health Disaster Committee was activated, with members of that committee turning out to a meeting to assess the damage and determine the next steps.

“All segments of the hospital were required to offer updates with respect to where we were at the time and what was urgent and necessary,” deShong added.

DeShong said a needs assessment was done and an immediate decision was taken to address patients at the hospital.

“In that way, we discharged non-urgent cases and activated our psycho social team to assist with support services…,” he said.

However, despite not receiving a heads up on the weather pattern, deShong said they have received extensive help since the ordeal from a number of organisations and national bodies including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Mobilisation, among others.

deShong said the response from their ancillary workers has been tremendous and expressed gratitude to a woman whom he referred to as Ms Soleyn from Rose Bank, where the clinic was affected.

He said Soleyn allowed them to set up a mini accident and emergency unit in her home to deal with the emergencies on that end.

“We want to commend her highly for that. We are grateful for the level of support and understanding.”

Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Simone Keizer-Beache told SEARCHLIGHT yesterday that the Chateaubelair clinic and some others on the Leeward coast, were flooded and without water.

According to the CMO, the CWSA could not guarantee getting water to those clinics because of problems clearing the roads to those communities.

“As it is now, we are organizing to get water delivered by Coastguard to Chateaubelair hospital…,” Keizer-Beache said.

She noted that the hospital is partnering with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) for extra support and assessment.

Keizer-Beache thanked the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) for assisting with the clean up of the MCMH. She further thanked members of the Closed Brethen for bringing their industrial cleaners to help with much of the work on Christmas day.

Appreciation also went out to the CWSA and Nemo.

“We are really grateful for all this help. Our staff also; from the most senior to the most junior staff came out. Some of them worked throughout the night into yesterday and some of them are back here today, so we had a lot of support,” Keizer-Beache said.

Up to press time yesterday, she said cleaning was still being done, with most of the work still to be done on the corridors. She said once those areas are cleaned and a full supply of water returns, the temporarily relocated wards will be returned to their original places, no later than Saturday.

The torrential rains which triggered heavy flooding throughout the country on Tuesday night, took the lives of eight persons, with five others still missing. (KW)