Minister promises full use of Couva Children’s Hospital

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has assured that the Couva Children's Hospital will be utilised and become fully operational once it is commissioned and handed over, either to the Ministry of Health or the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA).

Making it clear that the PNM Government was not about wasting taxpayers’ money, it was a tough-talking Deyalsingh who fired back at the former administration as he in turn accused them of using it as a political tool.

Making the statements as he responded to reporters following the Third Meeting of National Aids Programme Managers and Key Partners at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, Deyalsingh sought to “get the facts straight” regarding the opening and operations of the new hospital.

The People’s Partnership (PP) has accused the new government of deliberately stalling the opening of the hospital, which Deyalsingh says is simply not true.

The minister stressed that the adult and children's hospital was yet to be handed over by the executing agency, which was the Urban Development Corporation of T&T (Udecott).

Revealing that it was still under the auspices of the Ministry of Housing as Udecott was the contractor, Deyalsingh dropped a further bombshell as he said, “The South West Regional Health Authority has absolutely no budget to run the hospital.”

He added, “The hospital has not been vested in anyone as yet for commissioning.”

Stating that the PP government “had no plan to commission the hospital,” Deyalsingh continued, “There was a plan to open it for public relations purposes and there is a difference between opening and commissioning.”

Questioning what was the real plan, Deyalsingh pointed out that the PP government had intended to source the requisite 474-member staff for the first year, from the San Fernando General Hospital—which would have left that facility devoid of any medical personnel.

Reiterating that this facility was used as a political gimmick, Deyalsingh vowed, “The PNM has said during the campaign, that any worthwhile project we inherit will be used for the benefit of taxpayers. We will be looking at that to see how best we can use it.”

He continued, “We will not treat taxpayers money as the last administration treated the Tarouba Complex, we will not be doing that to the taxpayer of T&T. The taxpayer has invested money into that structure and we will see how best to utilise it.”

Promising that it would utilised “sometime in the future,” the minister said once it was formally handed over, plans would be made for its use.

Asked if he had toured the facility since assuming office, Deyalsingh said he had no authority to enter the premises as the project remained under the ambit of the Housing Ministry, which is headed by minister Marlene Mc Donald.

Pressed to say when it might be handed over, Deyalsingh directed those questions to Mc Donald or the Udecott chairman Noel Garcia.

Calls to the cellphones of both Mc Donald and Garcia went unanswered.

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