Caption: The Central Block of the Port of Spain General Hospital
FYZABAD MP Dr Lackram Bodoe wants to know what is the meaning of a “practical opening” of the Central Block of the Port of Spain General Hospital.
On Monday a ceremony was titled: “The Achievement of the Practical Completion of the Construction of the Port of Spain General Hospital Central Block.”
In a release on Wednesday, Dr Bodoe said, “The fanfare surrounding the opening of the new Central Block of the Port of Spain General Hospital raises more questions than it provides answers.
“The invitation for this event billed it as “the practical opening” of the facility. Pray tell, what is a practical opening?”
He said video clips circulating show the structure was still unfinished and no way ready to receive patients. He called it “a construction site!”
Dr Bodoe said, “Minister of Health Terence Deyalsingh frequently used this term to describe the state of the art completed 230 bed Couva Hospital when questioned in Parliament about when it would start treating patients.
“Playing politics with health, he tried to fool the population into believing that the completed, fully equipped structure opened in Couva on 14th August 2015 was still under construction.”
He said it took the Covid-19 pandemic to force this government to finally open the Couva Hospital.
Dr Bodoe said, “The population must now ask when this facility started by the PNM government several years ago will actually be ready to treat patients. When will the 1.3 billion spent on this facility actually start to benefit patients? And how much more will have to be spent before doctors and nurses can actually care for patients in the Central Block?
“It is clear that this so called opening on Monday was a political expediency to facilitate outgoing Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley. This type of behavior, a hallmark of this Government, only serves to reinforce their contempt for the average citizen of Trinidad and Tobago.
“Meanwhile Minister Deyalsingh, as he sits in the prioritised new Ministry of Health administration building will continue to remain oblivious to the plight and suffering of citizens as they wonder how long it will take for them to actually benefit from the beds promised at the Central Block.”
