(Trinidad Express) A US-based infectious disease specialist says hospitals in Trinidad and Tobago would not be prepared if there is an outbreak of the deadly Ebola here.
“I’ve seen what San Fernando General Hospital looks like, I’m a Sando boy, and I know what Port of Spain General Hospital looks like—people coming in with fever, nausea and vomiting go to the ER (emergency room).
“To be honest with you, I don’t think the hospital would be prepared. Contingency plans have to be put in place,” said Dr Lennox Archibald, hospital epidemiologist for the Gainesville Veterans Administration Medical Centre in Florida, USA.
He was responding to questions by the Express during a breakfast seminar on infectious diseases, hosted by Brison Ltd at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre, St Ann’s.
Archibald said even US hospitals are unprepared to deal with the disease.
“The average hospital is so complex. It’s like a maze, and people come in with fever, pains, and it’s difficult to say that the average hospital is prepared. In fact, the experts have said that US hospitals are not prepared,” he said.
