Sterilisation department in shambles

THE EDITOR: Please permit me a space in your newspaper to respond to an article on page 18, March 11, 2004 tittled. “Rahael 180 free Surgeries annually.” The Minister of Health said that Government will be striving to improve surgical facilities at the nation’s hospitals to reduce the back log of surgeries and for the first time in 12 years, four Operating Theatres are functioning properly at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. My advice to the Minister of Health: Sir, If you really want to reduce the backlog of surgeries at the PoSGH you need to pay a personal visit, without saying that you are coming. You will then know what is required to reduce the backlog of surgeries. Sir, do not believe everything that is told to you by the administrators of the hospital.

Please be advised that at PoSGH  the Central Sterilisation Supplies Department (CSSD) that is responsible for supplying sterile packs for surgery etc is not functioning properly, so how could four Theatres be functioning properly? At CSSD there are no specialised trained personnel. (All have retired even though CSSD is a specialised area.) CSSD workers need to be properly trained to be able to account for the equipment and utensils that disappear from hospital on a daily basic. (The more equipment put into the system, the more they disappear.) The workers there cannot properly identify and account for the CSSD equipments. When certain surgical packs are to be made instruments for certain sets are always missing. These packs cannot be made  the result is cancelled surgical procedures and poor people end up by private nursing homes and hospitals - where they are charged exorbitant prices, and Sir, the instruments doing these private cases are all marked CSSD. Mr Minister I beg of you to make a check for yourself and you will understand the reason for the backlog of surgical procedures.

Mr Minister, four operating theatres may be functioning but not properly. The main CSSD is without a functioning steriliser for years. All packs are being sent to Mt Hope to be done on a daily basis and Mt Hope is always breaking down. Could you imagine waiting for a surgical procedure to begin, when the pack required has to (1) be washed at the CSSD, (2) dried and wrapped, (3) transported to Mt Hope by a van, (4) wait until Mt Hope finishes their work, (5) Port-of-Spain gets to use steriliser, (6) Transport pack back to Port-of-Spain and (7) Send pack to required department for use? Sir, could you understand why the backlog and cancellation of surgery! Do not let the administrators fool you.

Port-of-Spain CSSD is a health hazard, Did the Administrators tell you that:-
1) CSSD is the home of rats, mosquitoes and woodlice.
2) Tripping on broken tiles is normal in CSSD.
3) No chairs for workers to sit for years, also is normal in CSSD.
4) No air condition for years (we are talking sterilisation — this place should be of a certain temperature). So Mr Minister how could there be four functioning Theatres at PoSGH? Please visit and put things in place. Without CSSD there is no functioning Hospital. After a surgical procedure is done where will the sterile dressing packs come from to change the patient’s dressing daily? At CSSD, the foundation is not strong and equipped to hold the rest of the building. Remember buildings crumble when there are earthquakes if their foundations are not strong.  At present this is the situation with the Health Service. Please Sir start digging and put down a good foundation — it is not too late.

A THOMAS
Port-of-Spain