Hospital cooks: Work will stop

The North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) has been given a deadline today to improve the temporary kitchen at St Ann’s Hospital, or else work will stop and protest action by cooks will intensify. This was the ultimatum given at an impromptu meeting between the cooks, led by vice-president of the Public Services Association, Stephen Thomas, and permanent secretary in the Health Ministry, Reynold Cooper at the Health Ministry. The meeting was prompted by the cooks’ demonstration outside the ministry to get a response to the unsanitary and dangerous conditions at the temporary kitchen, and force the authorities to complete renovations on the old kitchen.

“We don’t expect magic but we expect serious activity,” Thomas told the permanent secretary. The areas to be addressed are: replacement of leaking gas lines, new fire extinguishers,  and replacement of a faulty stove that caught fire last Tuesday. Thomas said these were things that could be done right away and did not require the NWRHA tender committee. He also said the boiler, which is used to provide steam for cooking and the laundry, must be decommissioned within 24 hours. During the meeting, Thomas said the gas lines and stoves were near the entrance and if there was a fire, the workers would have to jump over a rail 25 feet above ground.

He also claimed that there was no schedule for cleaning and maintenance. “In a hospital food is being prepared in a place that is totally unsanitary.” While fans were installed because of excessive heat, Thomas said they were dusty. He said if the “patched up” boiler exploded it would mean death for the boiler workers. The steam produced is 500 times that of a pressure cooker and the insulation casing around the boiler has deteriorated. Thomas said the kitchen has been closed  for more than two years, and workers relocated “in good faith” because they were told that the kitchen would be expeditiously refurbished. However, he claims it has been more than two years since the workers relocated to the makeshift kitchen.

Cooper said the ministry had allocated money for the refurbishment of the kitchen, but did not know why the project had taken so long. He assured the workers that he would investigate. Cooper also promised to contact the PSA with a response to its deadline. During the meeting he called the NWRHA to find out the status of the kitchen project and was told that the chief executive officer Cynthia Carrington-Murray was unavailable. However, vice-president of operations, Agatha Carrington, said the long-term plan was for a contract to be awarded after tenders were evaluated. Health Minister John Rahael sent word after 9 am that he would meet with the cooks at 2.30 pm yesterday. However, after the meeting with Cooper, Thomas said this would not be necessary.