Dear Editor,
I note with no surprise a response by Cordinol Beckford, chairman of the Princess Margaret Hospital, to Delano Seiveright's concerns about the poor state of affairs at the hospital.
I am shocked that it was not highlighted at the end of the column that Beckford is a leading member of the People's National Party's machinery in the parish. As a former resident of St Thomas, with much of my family still there, I can say without a doubt that like the National Solid Waste Management Authority, the hospital has not done well under its 'political' management.
It is well known that wait times are very long so much so that people regularly collapse on the floor of the wait area in pain and begging for attention. The hospital is also very understaffed and lacking in equipment and basic medical supplies, thereby frustrating the efforts of the very limited medical staff and patients alike. Seiveright frankly should have also highlighted that the hospital is called a "morgue" by many in St Thomas.
I am also concerned about the poor assessment of priorities displayed by the board of the hospital. For one, it is shameful that the Government spent a significant amount of money -- over $40 million we are told -- to erect a fence at the institution, which has had to be subject to further repairs due to shoddy work.
It may do well for Seiveright or his party spokesperson to call on the Office of the Auditor General and/or the Office of the Contractor General to carry out a full investigation into the financial affairs of the hospital. It is also critical that Seiveright continues to shine light on the poor state of affairs in the parish, as for far too long it has been neglected.
D Solomon
Portmore
St Catherine
Keep shining a light, Seiveright
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I note with no surprise a response by Cordinol Beckford, chairman of the Princess Margaret Hospital, to Delano Seiveright's concerns about the poor state of affairs at the hospital.
I am shocked that it was not highlighted at the end of the column that Beckford is a leading member of the People's National Party's machinery in the parish. As a former resident of St Thomas, with much of my family still there, I can say without a doubt that like the National Solid Waste Management Authority, the hospital has not done well under its 'political' management.
It is well known that wait times are very long so much so that people regularly collapse on the floor of the wait area in pain and begging for attention. The hospital is also very understaffed and lacking in equipment and basic medical supplies, thereby frustrating the efforts of the very limited medical staff and patients alike. Seiveright frankly should have also highlighted that the hospital is called a "morgue" by many in St Thomas.
I am also concerned about the poor assessment of priorities displayed by the board of the hospital. For one, it is shameful that the Government spent a significant amount of money -- over $40 million we are told -- to erect a fence at the institution, which has had to be subject to further repairs due to shoddy work.
It may do well for Seiveright or his party spokesperson to call on the Office of the Auditor General and/or the Office of the Contractor General to carry out a full investigation into the financial affairs of the hospital. It is also critical that Seiveright continues to shine light on the poor state of affairs in the parish, as for far too long it has been neglected.
D Solomon
Portmore
St Catherine
Keep shining a light, Seiveright
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