Old NA hospital being vandalized

By Shabna Ullah
A section of the old hospital

As had been feared by some, the picturesque old NA Hospital building is being vandalized and some persons are using it as a hideout.

There are reports that the vandals have removed materials such as ply board and sliding doors that were used to convert sections of the building into a nursing school and dormitory.

The Ministry of Health had promised to “transform” a part of the building into a nursing school and dormitory after operations were shifted to the new location in November 2004.

Contacted, Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said that the project had commenced. He said the ministry is “still working on it” but more money is needed for the completion.

The minister said he has not gotten any report from the region that the materials were removed and was also unaware that zinc sheets and other items are being stolen.

He also told Stabroek News that he has not heard of persons entering the premises and that it is being protected by security guards.

Zinc sheets removed by vandalsNearby residents however said that items including sinks, cupboards and electrical fixtures are being removed during the nights.

“Late at nights we would be disturbed by the loud pounding and hammering and sometimes we hear the junkies laughing and shouting among themselves.”

According to them, the vandals enter the compound freely through a fence that had been ripped open close to the gate at the Main Street entrance –– “as if they own it.”

Security
Residents are concerned that the security guards who have been placed at the main gate on Charles Place and at the entrance at Strand where a public health clinic is being held “appear not to know or not to care about what is taking place…”

Residents said the issue is serious and called on the authorities to address it immediately instead of leaving the junkies to destroy the building further. “Persons cannot underestimate what goes on in the building”, one said.

“Old” hospital records scattered in the admin departmentPastor Wilbert Daniels whose house is situated close to the hospital told Stabroek News that he has witnessed the vandalism on many occasions. He said that as recent as Friday around 5 am he saw a man exiting the torn fence with a few zinc sheets that were removed from the old laundry area and the outpatients’ sanitary block.

“If concerned citizens sit idly by and do nothing then the vandals would override the society; we have to speak out against this issue,” he said. “I highlighted it in a letter in the media last November but the concerns have still not been addressed adequately.”

He had even made complaints to a senior official of the NA Hospital about the vandalism and stealing and suggested that the fence should be sealed. But the official responded that “even if we seal there, they [vandals] would cut somewhere else.”

According to him, the official also informed him about the presence of security guards but nevertheless “promised to look into it and shortly after the police made some arrests.”
The pastor, who is a former nurse at the hospital, made several reports to the NA Central Police Station while persons were in the act of stealing and even though ranks responded promptly, the perpetrators still managed to hide.

The fence where the vagrants gained accessA police source confirmed to Stabroek News that the building is indeed serving as a “hideout for criminals.” He said that they have recently arrested persons for “wandering” in the compound but they were released after “nothing incriminating was found against them.”

This newspaper also learnt that an outboard engine that was stolen from fishermen a few months ago had been recovered in the building.

Vegetation
A resident opined that had there been proper lighting around the compound the vandals would have been kept away. He was also afraid that “the thick vegetation that was recently cleared from the compound could have encouraged dangerous animals to loiter.”

Contacted, NA Health Inspector, Ackloo Ramsudh said he received complaints about the “overgrowth and of garbage being in the compound and I sent a letter to the administration of the hospital to clear it within a certain time and they complied.”

A former staff member told this newspaper that she recently visited the institution “because of sentimental reasons and was shocked to find volumes of books worth thousands of dollars scattered in the nurses’ library.”

The woman said that even if the library was not being used; the books could have been utilized by students of the nursing school. “I am peeved at the way the books that we studied from are being treated.”

Further, she said the doors to some sections are being left open and to her astonishment she discovered that hospital records were strewn on the floor in the administrative department.

But Dr. Ramsammy said that all the relevant records have been transferred and that only “old things” have been left behind. The minister said that not all the records are kept and that they do not have need for those that were around for more than 10 years.

Over at the pharmacy the woman said she noticed that drugs such as antibiotics – some that were expired and others carrying expiry dates for 2008 had been left behind.

What distressed her more was when “I returned to the hospital subsequently I realized that some of the drugs were stolen. The culprits may be selling the drugs at a cheap price or may be using them but that is a dangerous…”

The former employee also told this newspaper that she is perplexed as to why the drugs were not taken to the new location [or disposed of properly if there was no use for them] and sees it as a “waste of taxpayers’ money.”

Historical site
Residents feel that the building, “a timber architectural masterpiece that was designed by world renowned architect, Cesar Castellani in 1881 and officially opened in 1884” should be properly preserved.

Items remaining in the pharmacyAccording to Daniels, “If government has plans for the structure then they should have put systems in place to protect it. I am baffled as to why they would allow it to be destroyed; it is falling apart and is becoming an eyesore. They see signs of vandalism and they are still not doing anything about it.”

He pointed out that “people in other countries value their historical sites… government should have consultations with residents about what to do with the building. It is my desire to see it restored”

Daniels further said he is aware that the building is costly to maintain and that if government cannot afford to do so, “they should get persons to utilize sections of the building and their mere presence can act as a form of security and keep away the vagrants.”

A letter writer to this newspaper had said that “…efforts should be made by the government of Guyana to contact the International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, which usually finances preservations of buildings that qualify.”

A brief history of the hospital states that, an extension which started from the western end of the building in 1925 and was completed in 1926, served as the tuberculosis ward on the bottom flat and the maternity ward on the top flat.

The x-ray department was established in 1928 and an x-ray machine was purchased and installed. The other x-ray department was opened in December 1966.

The nurses’ dining room was built and a small laboratory was erected in 1932. Further additions were done to the building in 1950. There was no adequate water supply and rainwater had to be collected and stored in large tanks and then pumped into the wards. The water system was improved in 1952 when an artesian well was sunk.

President Bharrat Jagdeo officially opened the new New Amsterdam Hospital – located obliquely opposite the NA Psychiatric Hospital – on February 20, 2005.

The new building, funded by a US$13M grant from the Japanese Government and built by the Kitano Construction Company is equipped with modern facilities.