Senior Reporter
jensen.lavende@guardian.co.tt
The Government has announced plans to open the 230-bed Couva Hospital and Multi-Training Facility, formerly known as the Couva Children’s Hospital, by the end of the year under its original name.
Health Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe and Works and Infrastructure Minister Jerlean John, accompanied by officials from the Urban Development Company of T&T (Udecott), toured the facility yesterday to counter Opposition claims that it is not ready for use.
John said tendering for upgrades, equipment replacement, and other improvements will soon begin.
According to a Udecott fact sheet, the planned upgrades include replacing the X-ray anode tube for the 64-slice CT scanner, the radiofrequency power module amplifier for the 3T MRI machine, incubators and radiant warmers in the NICU, and non-functional anaesthesia machines.
Other work includes repairing vinyl flooring, resealing the glass curtain walls and external windows, replacing some non-medical furniture, and updating internal and external signage to reflect the hospital’s name.
Biomedical engineers Nathan Jeremie and Emily Coker, who joined the tour, highlighted millions of dollars’ worth of equipment left unused for ten years. Some machines, still wrapped in plastic, had never been operated. While the equipment was state-of-the-art when purchased, the engineers noted it was now largely obsolete, though some items may still be functional with adjustments.
Both ministers criticised the previous administration for failing to operationalise the facility fully since its completion in August 2015.
“We had collected all the binders with the warranties and guarantees. We had accepted the hospital as having achieved practical completion from the contractor. The defect liability periods and warranties were triggered, yet after spending some $10 million, the country was deprived of the full use of the facility,” John said.
She also recalled that deaths at the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital may have been prevented if the Couva facility had been in use. Last year, former Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh claimed the hospital lacked a NICU, but Coker refuted this during the tour.
At the NICU, Coker said the facility could contribute to international Sustainable Development Goals aimed at reducing infant mortality.
“This space can help reduce the number of infant deaths per 1,000 births, a target that is a global focus,” she said.
John confirmed that the tender for upgrades will be issued shortly and is expected to be completed within two months. Staffing concerns, previously raised by the former government, are also being addressed.
Dr Bodoe said: “There’s currently a shortage of some 1,800 nurses in the country. I have requested resources in the upcoming budget to fill these vacancies. We can also utilise nurses from other Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) if needed.”
Discussions with the T&T National Nurses’ Association are ongoing, he said.
When asked whether the hospital’s opening would be phased, John responded: “When we open, we open. People will be coming in. When we did the 216-bed tower in San Fernando, it was a full opening—I was pushing wheelchairs on that day, and one patient said he felt as if he were in a five-star hotel.”
Dr Bodoe added that no decision has been made regarding which RHA will manage the facility. Currently, it remains under the Health Ministry and will serve all RHAs. Under the previous government, the hospital fell under the North Central RHA.
Addressing the death of six-year-old Jasher Francois on August 7, Bodoe said the matter is under investigation.
“Attorneys may be involved, and I prefer not to comment further until I receive the committee’s report,” he said.
The committee comprises four members appointed to investigate Jasher’s death.
An initial autopsy at the San Fernando General Hospital listed aspiration pneumonitis, likely due to viral pneumonia, as the cause of death. However, a second autopsy conducted by Professor Dr Hubert Daisley confirmed aspiration pneumonitis but also noted a swollen brain and cardiovascular and kidney complications.
Daisley concluded that Jasher most likely suffered a cardiovascular event that resulted in cardiogenic shock, acute kidney injury, and hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.
