Plea for HIV testing in South

THE EDITOR: I am requesting you to publish a humble  plea of a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, to the Health sector via the daily Newsday.

I wish to plead with the Ministry of Health to focus some attention on the Queen’s Park Counselling Centre and Clinic known as the QPCC and C department, Southern division. Presently they are “squatting” at the San Fernando General Hospital, ward 17 to be precise since they had no other space to carry out their service. There areonly two offices in Trinidad that do HIV/Aids testing. One in Port-of-Spain and the other in San Fernando General Hospital. However, only the one in Port-of-Spain is fully functional since three doctors are working there and absolutely none in the southern division. This is total nonsense! I went there to get tested, only to be told to go to the northern division, since no doctors were present. In order for blood work to be done, a doctor must be present to authorise the act. This is ridiculous! I live in South, am I really expected to go to Port-of-Spain in that “mad crowd” with only three doctors at work? When would I get service? Is that the best this country can do for a deadly disease such as HIV/AIDS? I witnessed pregnant women coming from places such as Rio Claro, Caparo and Preysal only to be told to go to Port-of-Spain as well. They have to return to their respective residences and travel to Port-of-Spain another day. Is that making sense to you?

Another deadly virus is on the rise, syphilis. It is another sexually transmitted disease that is held responsible for the rise in children’s death rate. On a daily basis, babies have to be aborted due to the this virus. Many babies are still-born and absolutely nothing is being done in attempt to save them. All these nationwide awareness programmes have no effect whatsoever if citizens cannot get a simple test done to know for sure if they are carriers or not! When the nurses protested in Port-of-Spain, in relation to this specific issue, they were ridiculed by the public and yet no help was rendered to them. Please assign a few of those Cuban doctors for assistance or at least transfer one doctor from the northern division to the southern division. If it is impossible for a doctor to be there on a daily basis, his or her presence on a weekly basis would be highly appreciated. As a tax payer, is that too much to ask for?

ANESHA  RAMOUTAR
Woodland