Private Facility in Corozal Denies Service to Suspect COVID-19 Patient
Marvin Manzanero
With the health services under stress, Doctor Manzanero also addressed disturbing reports of a suspected COVID patient who was refused admission at a private facility in Corozal and at the K.H.M.H. The private facility turned down the patient until a down payment was made or clearance from the Ministry of Health was received. So the family became desperate because the patient was in critical condition and transported him to the K.H.M.H. But when the patient arrived there, the family was informed that the K.H.M.H. was full to capacity. It was not until one ‘clock this morning that the patient began receiving treatment at the national referring hospital. Doctor Manzanero explained what transpired.
Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services
“That patient came from Corozal seem to require a level of intubation. My understanding from Karl Heusner is that they asked Corozal if they can wait for a couple of hours because they are trying to clean the room. Again there is a transition area where people are confirmed positive and pending confirmation. So there was a little bit of delay. Understandably there was whatever miscommunication and that person was taken to, at the request of family members who would have seen their family member in a dire situation to Healthcare Partners. I was not aware of that situation until I was called to be told that there was an ambulance at Healthcare Partners where they were not being allowed to drop off a patient. I called C.E.O. Hoare at that point in time and that’s when that patient was taken to the Karl Heusner and then waited, I don’t know how much time, because we were trying to sort out the specific area to which the patient was going to go. So I think that was sort out about one o’clock this morning. The notes I have, because he is not a confirmed case, is that he would have been in the containment area pending his result. But he is not one of the intubated patients that I have.”
