Wednesday August 29, 2012
Kaieteur News
Non-operational ambulance sits idle at BV’s health centre
The non- operational ambulance parked in the BV health centre compound. For almost eight years now, an ambulance donated to the Beterverwagting Health Centre, has been sitting in that facility’s compound…and left to rot. The vehicle, said to worth an estimated $5M, has been lying dormant in a garage for want of repairs. Residents complained that for quite some time, the vehicle has been useless to them. As a matter of fact, the health centre’s users said that for a significantly long period of time the ambulance has not been operational and currently serves no purpose. The residents are claiming that they once had the benefits of the ambulance’s use with the services of trained operators, but now they have to revert to the lone East Coast Demerara ambulance that caters for health centres, stretching as
far as Clonbrook. According to the residents, the ambulance which was donated to their community over a decade ago is managed by a committee. Kaieteur News was told that at least two villagers were hired and trained by the committee to operate the ambulance while there was also a separate operations room that took in calls when the ambulance was needed. They, however, said that after the 2005 flood which the ambulance had survived, it was no longer operational. The vehicle has since been under lock and key in the compound’s garage and no one seems to know what it requires. “The rust on the padlock could tell that this thing has been here for a long time,” a man said. The residents explained
that they face great difficulty when an emergency occurs in the village. They said that they had to resort to private or public vehicles when transporting the sick since they have to depend on the services of the regional ambulance, which is sometimes unavailable. The residents also want a shed to be built in the compound. It is understood that almost 100 persons use the health facility on a daily basis with no means of shelter. It would also facilitate the elderly persons, the residents said. The need for a regular caretaker was also lamented by the residents who pointed to the tall grass that had taken over the health centre’s immediate surroundings. They said that tending to the grass in the compound is only done periodically.
Missing teen’s remains... (From page 15) 13:00hrs on Tuesday. The woman said that she was sitting on the koker when they were told that a body was spotted on the Number Four area. Their worst fears were confirmed when it was discovered that it was indeed the body of the teen. The relatives are insisting that something is amiss. They stated that when the body was found, it was
bloated and blood was oozing from the noose with an eye missing. They now want the police to conduct further investigations into the matter. The father of the girlfriend was initially held but has since being released. Investigations are continuing. Anthony is the third fisherman from the Rosignol area to have disappeared from the area in just over a week. The two other men are
boat owner, Mahendra ‘Rub’ Ompertab, 29, of Lot 318 Rosignol Village, West Bank Berbice and his brother-in-law, Kanhai Madramootoo, 42, of the same address. The men who are attached to the Rosignol Fishermen Coop Society left their base in their small vessel fitted with a 40-hp engine for a journey which do not usually last more than 12 hours. They have been missing now for over 13 days.
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