The Scarborough General Hospital is not in emergency mode, as is widely circulated on social media.
Tobago Regional Health Authority's (TRHA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sheldon Cyrus said the information being circulated was untrue. "That is not true. We do not want the population to panic," Cyrus told Guardian Media.
Told that we have a copy of the letter from the TRHA's Medical Chief of Staff Dr Rufaro Celestine, giving the emergency mode instruction, he said, "It was an issue that it was under consideration, but we did not go that way."
The letter marked "urgent" was sent on Friday evening to all doctors and 26 other members of staff.
It stated: "I am going to ask the CEO Mr (Sheldon) Cyrus to place the hospital in emergency mode as we can no longer provide specialist medical care for adult patients."
Celestine's letter stated that it was necessary as only an intern and a house officer were on duty in the Internal Medicine Department. Six other doctors attached to the department are either on leave or ill, she added.
She indicated that she was unqualified to help in that department.
"I wish I could personally assist...during this critical period, but I am a specialist in public health medicine and I am not medico-legally able to do so."