Flea infestation and chemicals at DCFA; Hostility and treatment refusal at Mt. Hope

Tuesday 3rd April, 2012

The Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education 

Senator the Honourable Fazal Karim 

The Minister of Health 

The Honourable Fuad Khan 

Campus Principal 

The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine 

Professor Clement Sankat 

Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education 

The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine

Professor Funso Aiyejina

President

UWI Guild of Students, St. Augustine

Mr. Amilcar Sanatan

Re: Flea infestation and chemicals at DCFA; Hostility and treatment refusal at Mt. Hope

Good day,

This is an open letter to those officials mentioned above, to the students of the University of the West Indies and to the public of Trinidad and Tobago.

My first concern is focused around a flea infestation at the Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) of the University of the West Indies, Agostini Street, St. Augustine. After numerous students were bitten by fleas, a petition was signed to be sent to the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education, Professor Funso Aiyejina. I have no evidence that the petition was actually delivered to Professor Aiyejina but a crew was hired to spray the site over the weekend and yesterday. Students returned to classes today after DCFA opened for operations as usual.

It was during classes this afternoon that students started to complain about burning of the eyes, nose and face. Some left the compound because of this but others remained for classes and rehearsals which ran their usual courses. Among those affected was the librarian on the compound who also had a swollen lip. My friend Candice called me at almost 7:00p.m. crying and complaining about the burning. After washing her face a few times we carried her to Mt. Hope Medical Sciences Complex as the burning continued and campus Health Services Unit was closed.

I am sure that the DCFA and the Faculty of Humanities and Education will now undergo exercises to clean up the chemical residue from the flea removal process. Student health, safety and well-being should be a prime concern at the University. It is startling though that these clean up exercises were not seen as necessary before. One would assume that reactions to chemicals would be considered before the reopening of the site. The fleas have now been removed and students are thankful, however, DCFA students continue to be adversely affected due to a lack of proper planning and a lack of proactive, well thought out tactics. The decision for operations to resume a day after chemicals were sprayed without proper clean up still perplexes me. My friend crying because of the pain from a burning face, eyes, nose and mouth is evidence of this. I am aware that other letters about this situation are being written as well calling for an enquiry into what has happened.

The other concern arises from our visit to the Eric Williams Medical Science Complex. We completed registration at the Accident and Emergency Department and waited for her to see the nurse. While seeing the nurse, a doctor told her that he sees nothing wrong with her and that she could not be treated in the Accident and Emergency Department. Without performing any tests he told her that she should visit a Health Centre. At this time her eyes are swollen, red, burning and filled with tears; she is not seeing very clearly. The Ministry of Health’s website states that “You should go to the Accident and Emergency Department of the Hospital only when you have a life threatening accident/incident or emergency such as… Allergic reactions.” 

Attempting to get her quickly to a facility capable of treating her, seeing that Mt. Hope lacks the capabilities, I asked the assistance of an ambulance driver and the driver of a Ministry of Health van that were both outside the entrance. I asked them both for a lift to the St. Joseph Health Centre which is on the outskirts of the Mt. Hope compound. The ambulance driver who was leaving at the time said that they could not give her a lift there. The driver of the van said that it was not policy to give persons rides and that we can walk to the Health Centre. Granted that the health centre is not that far for a healthy person, a person in pain with problem seeing apparently is not legible for an ambulance ride out of the compound, the direction that the ambulance was heading, or a ride in a Ministry vehicle.

Realising that as citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, assistance in this public health facility seemed relatively non-existent, I knocked on the office door of the Patient Custodian (I can not recall if this is the actual title but the office is located on the left when you enter the Accident and Emergency Department. They are supposed to address patient complaints and concerns. This I know as I have has to interact with the office before).

She opens the door but before I can ask anything she begins to quarrel with me. She says that she is trying to leave work and that I should not be bothering her. She states that she told everyone that already and that I should speak to the security guards. I learned tonight that the security guards are hired by the Ministry of Health to attend to the needs and complaints of patients. She then goes back into her office. I understand that people have designated work hours but the manner in which she dealt with the situation was very disgusting.

I ask the security guard if there will be another custodian on duty, assuming than one should always be there. He says that they can never tell when one is on duty as they seldom know when one is in the office. At this time there are three security guards in the corridor along with other people who came in from the waiting room after the custodian raised her voice at me. I then begin to question the operations of the institution during which the custodian comes out of her office and barges through the group. One security guard starts making weird clicking noises at me; I assume that he has some speech impediment. Another security guard asks me to explain the situation to him, directing me away from the crowd. When I explain the situation he advises me that getting transport will take a long time. Thoroughly annoyed and disappointed at the way in which persons paid by the taxes of the patients treat the same patients, Candice and I left and walked across to St. Joseph Enhanced Health Centre. The pain became so unbearable that I had to help her walk part of the way. Despite the long wait at St. Joseph, she was at least able to examined by a doctor and get medical treatment. At least taxes are working for the people in one health facility.

This is not the first time that DCFA students have had issues around their educational space. They had to defend it at the start of the academic year and now it seems that they have to defend themselves in it. The treatment received at the Mt. Hope Medical Sciences Complex Accident and Emergency Department was absolutely disgusting. This field revolves around people but there seems to be very little respect or concern from people within the department. If the persons responsible for ensuring that patients receive the care that they deserve show no care for the patients, how can we then expect any care in the Health Care sector? Accountability seems to be lacking in the country. Perhaps social change will occur as people are made more accountable in whatever fields they may be in.


Sincerely,
LAWRENCE ARJOON