Hours after unflattering reports and pictures of the step-down facility for recovering COVID-19 patients in Sangre Grande emerged in the press on Easter Monday, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh ordered an immediate investigation into how and why the property was selected in the first place.
He has given Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) chair Esme Rawlins-Charles 48 hours to produce a detailed report relating to the procurement process used and the state of the former Aging At Home facility’s readiness ahead of the patients’ arrival on Saturday night.
Deyalsingh also attempted to deflect the negative press during Monday’s virtual press conference, saying he would provide the media with telephone access to patients, since he said they wanted to tell their side of the story. Deyalsingh also did not answer questions about the cost of the facility.
However, the minister’s about-face caught healthcare officials off guard, as up to three hours after the media briefing, ERHA officials were still attempting to solicit cell-phone numbers from patients willing to speak on the record.
Deyalsingh confirmed that 31 asymptomatic patients had been transferred to the step-down facility at Brooklyn Settlement and they were in stable condition and of no risk to others.
Addressing how a facility now deemed unfit by the patients could have been chosen, he said the regional health authorities had been given the authority to choose facilities for the patients’ recovery.
“We have instituted an immediate review as to how this site was chosen and how other sites are being chosen to make sure they are fit for purpose so we can prevent a reoccurrence of this.”
He also sidestepped some of the issues raised by the patients, including the hours-long wait they had before being admitted into the run-down facility, the rodent infestation and the unsanitary conditions. However, he noted repeatedly that remedial work was being down to bring the facility up to standard. He said although the patients had been offered the option to move again, all except one had accepted and that person had since been relocated to the Couva Hospital.
Deyalsingh claimed to have spoken to 26 of the 30 patients minutes before yesterday’s media briefing and reported, “They have indicated that under no circumstances are they prepared to move but they have also indicated they want a chance to tell their story to the media and we will arrange that.”
He added, “They are quite more comfortable with the actions taken to upgrade the facility and they have no desire to be moved, even though the option was given to them to be moved.”
Responding to the minister’s claims almost immediately, more than a dozen patients denied they had spoken to Deyalsingh on Monday and indicated the place remained as filthy as it was when they had initially arrived.
The group of patients said they were also told a return to the Couva Hospital was not on offer and the only other option was to be moved to the Caura Hospital, which they said is even more traumatic given claims also has issues.
Nearby residents at Brooklyn Settlement have also expressed concerns about a rat infestation on the property, as they spoke of the additional dangers posed to the recovering patients on Monday.
Addressing concerns regarding claustrophobia, confinement and the overall psychological impact on the patients, Deyalsingh said, “We have instituted individual psychological counselling because these people have been through hell and back.”
He added, “They did not bring this upon themselves, but what they don’t want is to be scapegoats and to be ostracised and they want a chance to tell their side of the story.”
Asked how they intend to prevent such reoccurrences, Deyalsingh said under the RHA Act 1994, each RHA owns and controls facilities and can select such properties for their use so, in this instance, the ERHA would have conducted the site visit and sanitised the premises.
Meanwhile, of the 1,152 samples submitted to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) up to 10 pm Monday, T&T had recorded 113 COVID-19 positive cases while the local death toll remained at eight and discharged patients stood at 17.