Fire destroys St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital's admin building.

WELL ALIT: St. Joseph's Mercy admin building

Health-care workers were Monday completing the relocation of more than 30 patients to other hospitals in Guyana's capital, Georgetown, following an early morning fire at the St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital that destroyed the administrative building.

The fire of unknown origin, which started shortly before 7 AM (Guyana Time) quickly engulfed the colonial wooden structure, destroying medical records and the history of the 65-year old medical institution.

"We have lost records, our whole medical records department is gone and that is going to tell heavily on us," said Marjorie Park , the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, which is located on Parade Street, Kingston. Private doctors who operated from the hospital have also lost their records.

She told Demerara Waves that all of the patients including four new-born babies were evacuated safely by nurses, other hospital staff, residents in the area and members of the Guyana Police Force.

CEO Marjorie Park

MOTHER AND NEW-BORN

The patients, including several bed-ridden, were shuttled across to the police sports pavilion and the Guyana Red Cross headquarters, where doctors and nurses were making arrangements to transfer critically ill persons to other private hospitals and the state-owned Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Ambulances and taxis were streaming in and out of the Red Cross yard, shuttling patients to the other health-care institutions.

Health Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy told Demerara Waves that government has requested all privately-owned hospitals to which patients have been relocated to allow doctors and nurses from the St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital to provide treatment and care.

"We have asked all the private hospitals to extend privilege to the Mercy Hospital staff so that they can go in there; that privilege has already been extended by the public sector so Georgetown hospital facilities are available," he said.

The St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital Nursing School as well as a concrete building, which houses the several wards, have been saved.

Police and nurses were seen wheeling and lifting patients along Parade and Barrack streets to the two holding areas as firemen battled the blaze and contained it to the administrative building.

At the Red Cross Headquarters, nurses and volunteers were busy assembling emergency cots as others comforted patients, some of whom were receiving intravenous liquids.

Dr. Jabour watched the blaze as it consumed the building in which his medical practice was also housed but he declined to speak in detail with the media.

POLICE IN RESCUE MISSION

The laboratory at the St. Joseph's Mercy Hospital is accredited by the American embassy here to conduct tests on would-be permanent residents of the United States.

Hospital authorities and government officials said one of the major challenges ahead would be providing treatment to out-patients of the St.Joseph's Mercy Hospital.

The CEO of the hospital said that given the fact that the ward-building has not suffered any major damage, she expected that the patients would soon be relocated there.
(Story stolen from Demerara Waves)