Water on floor in maternity ward of K.H.M.H.
The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital is the nation’s only referral hospital, and is currently being bombarded with very negative publicity following the deaths of newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit related to a bacteria outbreak. There are other problems at the hospital including water allegedly covering the floor of the maternity ward. Maureen Staine visited News Five to complain that her daughter-in-law just had surgery on Monday night, and they wade through water in the ward.
Maureen Staine, Upset at K.H.M.H.
“What happened yesterday, my daughter-in-law had an emergency surgery. Yes, she took the surgery after two, she left after five. When they took her to the ward, the ward they took her into; come on mien, it is like outside on the street…it is full of water. So I went to the head in charge and asked her what happened? Why would they put someone in a room like that who just came out of a theatre? They went like they can’t put her in any other room. Why not? That’s the reason why I want to know why because at the end of the day, when she leaves that hospital Mike, she will still have to pay her hospital bill. So why pay for something that is like on the street? What kind of facility is the Ministry of Health giving us? Tell me.”
Mike Rudon
Maureen Staine
“Maureen it hard for me to believe that; explain to me again…the ward is full of water?”
Maureen Staine
“She is in room six and it has water. The whole section on the right hand side in the maternity ward, the walls look like it is leaking or the windows; I don’t know what have you. But water…they have curtains, they have sheets, they have all kinds of things on the floor trying to sop up the water. Now someone just come out of surgery, how can they walk on a wet floor after a surgery. And I mek dehn know. I spoke to Miss Mossiah this morning and I told her I was going to come to channel five. She said, I can do whatever I want. So now I come and do whatever I want because the Belizean public needs to know what kinda service the government is giving to us.”
Mike Rudon
“So along with your daughter-in-law, the mothers there have to deal with the same kind of condition?”
Maureen Staine
“Yes. There was an old lady who came out and she said my god, my daughter has been here and look at the floor, we have to walk in water.”
News Five received unconfirmed reports just before news time that certain sections of the San Ignacio Hospital are also under water because of a leaking pipe.
As a former employee of KHMH all I can say is that the worse is yet to come. The infrastructure is being held together by chewing gum and twine. The building is about 20 years old and has not had a proper renovation done (shut the entire wing down and fix it).
However, everyone is screaming for a new or better hospital but yet no one has come up and say how it will be done. Now if you are waiting for the government to do it…..boy you obviously haven’t lived in Belize long enough. You want this problem fixed …go buy the raw materials and donate your time to building a new wing. Have a telethon. Do something, but don’t just complain and then do nothing. Ive seen protest being held (rightfully so as there is a need to highlight the situation-a deplorable one at that), however after the protest was over, did anyone say what they can do to help fix it? And if you are waiting for them to fire someone or the minister to resign, again I ask you, how long have you lived in Belize? 🙂
I want Channel 5 or 7 or Love to ask the hospital this question and then have an engineer certify the answer:
“Can KHMH withstand a category 3 hurricane?”
yeah- no matter..we have a Minister of Health that is deaf, dumb and blind- just like Barrow wants them to be. and be sure Chandra Cansino will make sure she gets her hospital bill…
where are the doctors marching now, where are the nurses, where is the Medical Association, they all seem extremely QUIET with all this going on. Imagine the possibilities of a UDP government. Pablo Marin speaks where it matters, at village council election. so the KHMH can implode and PM does not give a damn. he and his family go to USA , Miami and Houston to seek medical services, Pablo Marin goes to Chicago to have a baby a few months ago. that’s is how we in the UDP do it.