“Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any
country can have.” - Winston S. Churchill
In
the immediate vicinity of the CBD of Chaguanas a major health facility is
located, that is the privately owned Medical Associates Central Hospital (Photograph 1). This
hospital has been recently opened in 2012 and provides a great number of
services. Citizens of the middle and high income brackets would more be seen
going to this hospital as it is more exclusive as payment is required as the
hospital is private. This hospital is cleaner and more efficient due to the
lack of public crowds. It features wards, fully functioning operating theatres,
outpatient clinics, emergency rooms and CT scanning. Patients can be warded in
this hospital if they are in need of extensive care or recovery.
 |
| PHOTOGRAPH 1, taken by Kristen Goseine with Canon EOS REBEL T3i/EOS 600D. (Date taken: 24/02/15) |
There
is another major health facility, also located on the outskirts, that is the
Chaguanas District Health Facility (Photograph 2) which is open to the public at all times. This
is a government owned facility and so it is free to all those in need of
medical care, who cannot afford to go to private facilities. However, this
results in there being a long waiting line to be seen by a physician. From
personal experience this hospital is very unprofessional and the service is of
a very poor quality. Due to the facility being crowded doctors, in an effort to
attend to all patients, provide hasty service. This hospital operates on a “first
come first serve” basis apart for emergencies.
 |
| PHOTOGRAPH 2, taken by Kristen Goseine with Canon EOS REBEL T3i/EOS 600D. (Date taken: 30/03/15) |
Located
in and around the CBD of Chaguanas there are other medical facilities and
private practices. These places offer specific medical services such as STD and
HIV/AIDS testing. There are also well known medical practitioners located here
including Dr George A. Elias (Orthodontist) and Dr Rai Ragbir (General Practitioner).
Please note! While visiting these hospitals rest assured that there is no chance of running into the likes of Dr Victor Frankenstein, Dr Abraham Van Helsing or Dr Hannibal Lecter.
In
the Caribbean many persons who wish to study medicine tend to divert more towards
foreign universities, whereas, those who study in the Caribbean migrate after
they have completed their studies. This results in the brain drain phenomenon,
commonly noticed in the region, where there is a loss of local persons to
provide services. As a result of this many of the doctors located in Trinidad
and Tobago are from Cuba and India, to assume these positions.
References
Dass,, D. 2012. 'Medical Associates To Open Hospital
In Chaguanas'. Trinidad And Tobago's Newsday.
http://www.newsday.co.tt/features/0,168175.html.
Hannibal Wiki,. 2015. 'Hannibal Lecter'. Accessed
March 31. http://hannibal.wikia.com/wiki/Hannibal_Lecter.
Health.gov.tt,. 2015. 'The Ministry Of Health -
Trinidad And Tobago'. Accessed March 31.
http://www.health.gov.tt/moh-healthfacilities/facility.aspx?id=33.
IMDb,. 2015. 'Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Character)'.
Accessed March 31. http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0002564/.
IMDb,. 2015. 'Van Helsing (Character)'. Accessed March
31. http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0002557/.
Very informative post! We see that there is a movement towards privatization (as seen in our blog http://buildingsoftrinidad.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-private-hospital.html) which speaks about a private hospital in San Fernando, and how this can relate to present development throughout the country. Even though Chaguanas is not a city, like San Fernando, we still see some similarities.
ReplyDeleteAriel Mahabirsingh
T'marah Forbes