Senior Reporter
dareece.polo@guardian.co.tt
Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds is ready to assist the Ministry of Health in ensuring the safety of patients and staff at the nation’s hospitals.
The assurance was given by Hinds yesterday, eight days after a mass shooting that started in Belmont and ended on the Port-of-Spain General Hospital (PoSGH) compound, resulting in the deaths of four people, two of them at the hospital site, and the wounding of eight others.
Hinds told Guardian Media in an interview yesterday that he was aware security had been beefed up at the PoSGH following the June 2 killings of Kevin King, 32; Abdul Williams, 31; Jonathon Arjoon, 28; and Jayden Reyes, 21, whose funeral was yesterday.
The shootings shook staff at the PoSGH, prompting Trinidad and Tobago National Nurses Association president Idi Stuart to call for tighter security at all hospitals.
Hinds yesterday said he was cognizant of the trauma these incidents cause on staff and pledged to offer assistance through his office.
“Their concerns and their fears are not without justification and I am aware and would support efforts to improve security therein,” he said.
During an interview last week, Stuart had also called for a hazardous allowance for medical staff.
“We need to find ways that staff and their families will be comforted in case something untoward happens to them,” Stuart said.
“Far too many nurses have been injured in line of duty, and far too many nurses’ lives have been threatened by these very same gang members. Far too many nurses have been negatively affected.”
It is not yet clear if this request is under consideration by the Government.