Mom begs minister during hospital tour

SHARIFFA MOHAMMED stood in the corridor of the San Fernando General Hospital and pleaded with Health Minister John Rahael for help, saying her baby was born with a brain defect and needed a Cat Scan. Mohammed, 34, of Lengua Village, poured out her heart to Minister Rahael, who paid a surprise visit to the beleaguered South hospital which, for the past few days, has suffered during a dispute between surgeons and nurses. Mohammed was cuddling her week-old baby girl on a bench, when Rahael walked into the ward. Rahael visited the hospital around 11 am and was greeted by South West Regional Health Authority CEO, Michael Harris. The Minister immediately began touring the surgical wards.

He was later joined by SWRHA chairman Imtiaz Ahamad and SFGH’s manager Indira Maharaj. Greeting Mohammed with a handshake, Rahael asked the woman if all was well and she told the minister that doctors said she had to return for the Cat Scan on August 11. Rahael, bending over and holding the woman’s hand, quipped, “Everything will be alright... we’re putting things in place.” Rahael then visited Noel Lochan, whose scheduled surgery to remove the remaining egg-sized boils from his body was threatened by the impasse. Rahael, who ordered that Lochan be hospitalised several months ago, shook Lochan’s hands and greeted his parents Lionel and Cheryl Lochan. Nurses, who surrounded Lochan’s bedside,  told Rahael that Lochan would go under the knife today. Rahael greeted and chatted with nurses on the wards and theatres and told members of the media the hospital had returned to a state of normalcy.