"Near fatal neglect at Arima Health Facility" - Daily Express January 2nd, 2008
This story is not new, sadly. There are several instances where patients have had just cause to complain against staff at the Arima Health Facility due to the neglect of their (most times) extremely serious medical circumstances.
One has to wonder if actual fatalities have not yet occurred as a result of the actions of the staff there. A full investigation of the management and staff of this facility must be carried out immediately and staff retraining may be an option, but they should not rule out disciplinary action against staff who can be identified as troublemakers, denying patients their rights to be treated for their health problems.
I have been told that going through the main entrance when your condition is dangerously near life-threatening is a very bad idea. In other words, if you are taking a patient to the facility (with or without a vehicle) and their situation is serious enough to cause you concern for their life, make sure you enter via the emergency entrance, and DO NOT take NO for an answer. Ask (urgently but nicely) to speak with a doctor or the manager until you are seen by someone who can make a decision about the patient's condition better than the security guard, who will undoubtedly make his/her own assumptions about the condition of the patient.
Anyone who has experienced any problems getting treatment, for whatever reason, should make a formal complaint to the hospital management and copy it to the Ministry of Health, to the Minister and perhaps to the Prime Minister as well. Situations that put your health and well-being at risk must be treated with seriousness and no one should be refused treatment. Our tax dollars are paying for it. It is part of the basic human rights of any individual.
