By Kimone Witter
Administrators of public hospitals at two of the island's regional health authorities have blamed the unsanitary conditions in bathrooms at government-run facilities on theft and general misuse by members of the public.
Clinical Coordinator for the Western Regional Health Authority, Dr. Delroy Fray, and Regional Director for the South East Regional Health Authority, Errol Greene, have accepted that there are lapses in their maintenance programmes, but say there is regular monitoring of public bathrooms.
Both men have also acknowledged that there are leaking pipes or no running water and malfunctioning toilets, but say these problems are rectified as soon as possible.
Speaking Monday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106, Mr. Greene said the volume of people passing through hospitals or health centres and their geographical locations are also factors affecting the state of the facilities.
He said at Kingston Public Hospital, vandalism and theft of bathroom toiletries and fixtures is a major issue facing the administrator of the facility.
"The culture again is something else, because as fast as you put on the toilet seats they are either broken off or they’re stolen. As fast as you fill the containers and receptacles with liquid soap, people come in with bottles and drain them out. As fast as you replenish the toilet paper, people come in and take them out. As fast as you replace the hand towels, people come in and steal them," he lamented.
He argued that it is not economically feasible to hire additional people to constantly monitor bathrooms.
Mr. Greene further noted that there are maintenance teams and managers should hold them accountable.
But while he admitted there are issues at some facilities, Mr. Greene suggested that "overall, it is not as bad as some would want to make it out to be".
A Gleaner report published Sunday highlighted unsanitary conditions following canvassing of 14 bathroom facilities at seven hospitals and four health centres islandwide.
Dr. Delroy Fray, Clinical Coordinator at the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), explained that at Cornwall Regional Hospital in St. James, there is a dedicated person who monitors the bathrooms daily.
But Dr. Fray contended that there is a significant problem of indiscipline in the society, contributing to persistent theft of fixtures and poor treatment of public facilities.
He cited the theft of all eight shower heads at a bathroom at Cornwall Regional hospital, just a week after the facility was rebuilt.
"Now, can you replace eight shower heads every week?" he questioned rhetorically. "It's a big problem that we have and it boils right down to one thing. What the reporters should be doing is reporting about [in]discipline in the society and how we can stem that."
Dr. Fray said the situation has forced administrators to consider whether to "build a toilet out of metal and well it down on the floor" in order to ensure the facilities are maintained.
He, however, admitted that each health facility should have an infection control team.
