This is according to Director of Regional Health Services, Dr. Narine Singh who was asked why the recently-commissioned Lethem Hospital was unable to treat those injured. The accident resulted in the death of three persons and several passengers were seriously injured. The injured were initially rushed to the Lethem Hospital where they were treated and then transferred to Georgetown for further treatment.
Dr. Singh said that some required specialized treatment not available in the border community. There are currently three doctors, all general practitioners, stationed at the Lethem Hospital, which was commissioned on September 14. While noting that he did not have all the facts on the incident, Dr. Singh said that some of those injured sustained head injuries, fractures and broken bones. He explained that these would have required CT scans and surgery, requiring specialized treatment to deal with injuries of that nature. Such specialized treatment was not available at Lethem, he stated.
The Lethem Hospital was a joint venture between the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of Guyana. At the commissioning last September 14, Minister within the Health Ministry, Dr Bheri Ramsaran noted that the new facility was state-of-the art and would rival any regional hospital in the country. He had said the hospital would be adequately staffed with personnel who had the skills that were necessary.
On the morning of November 30, minibus BLL 4059 and SUV PKK 3942 collided along the Hunt Oil Road, North Rupununi Savannahs, Region Nine resulting in the death of the three, including a toddler. Fourteen others were hospitalized. Dead were the driver of the mini-bus, Juliano D’Aguiar, 21, of Lethem; passenger Lalis Antone, 52, of Shea, Deep South Rupununi and three-year-old Brandon Grimmond of Lethem.
Six of the 10 persons, who were rushed to Georgetown, were admitted and these included Hussain Mohammed and Adreanna Nicemen, who were admitted to the High Dependency Unit (HDU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital. Nicemen had suffered a broken leg, broken hip and fractured rib. She underwent surgery on Monday night.
Admitted to the Female Surgical Ward were Florence Grimmond, 45, of Lethem, who was the mother of Brandon, Maylene Foo, 25, also of Lethem and S. Mohammed, the other foreigner who was in the SUV. Grimmond was scheduled to undergo surgery having suffered injuries to her pelvic area. In the male surgical ward was Muneshwar Chunniman, 42, of Skeldon, who sustained a leg injury.
