Decommissioned in December of last year due to the two fires that brought about its closure, the Soufriere Hospital could very well be on its feet and back in business by next month.
Herod Stanislas, the town’s parliamentary representative, told The VOICE that “within two to three weeks” the hospital’s primary healthcare services will be restored — and so too will be its emergency services.
The fires occurred in November and early December of last year.
However, it was the December fire that caused major damages to the hospital, forcing the authorities to transfer emergency services to the Etangs Wellness Center, operational on a 24-hour basis and primary healthcare services at the St. Isidore’s Hall of the Catholic Church all in Soufriere.
Stanislas said that both fires were under investigation.
However, investigators found out that the second one was deemed not to be electrical in nature, but rather one of a suspicious nature.
This resulted in investigators treating the entire hospital as a crime scene.
The second fire was so intense that it destroyed the mental wellness section of the hospital, the maternity section and a room that held supplies for the entire hospital.
Police just recently handed the hospital back to the Ministry of Health after conducting investigations into the fires.
As of Monday morning, a cleaning company was to have started deep cleaning the hospital, to be followed by retrofitting, renovating and rewiring of the facility.
Despite all, however, Stanislas promised that the people of Soufriere will have their hospital in the shortest possible time.
He took a swipe at the former parliamentary representative Harold Dalson for allegedly not doing what he was supposed to do in healthcare for the people of Soufriere when he was in office.
“I am appalled by Harold Dalson, when he speaks about Soufriere hospital. This is a gentleman who had 10 years to remedy all the health problems in Soufriere, all the youth and sporting problems in Soufriere — and what does he have to show?
“Since coming to office I have done so much for Soufriere. This constituency was neglected by the Labour Party for 20 years,” Stanislas said.
The December fire caused extensive structural damage to the hospital and the institution lost many vital pieces of equipment and supplies.
A quick look at the Main entrance to the Hospital shows, no provision for the
physically handicapped and elderly. People with Wheel chairs etc would have
a hard time negotiating their way up these stairs. Shall we do something to fix this?