2 weeks ago
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Concerns are mounting tonight over long wait times and patient care at public health facilities in the Corozal District, following a troubling account shared by a local teacher who says she was unable to access timely medical attention for her sick child at the Corozal Polyclinic. The teacher, Ishel Arnold, told Love News that she waited for more than three hours at the facility after taking her son there when his condition worsened. According to Arnold, several patients were already waiting when she arrived, yet during the entire period, only one individual was reportedly called forward to give his name.
Ishel Arnold: “I sat down there just following the instruction that was given to me that you need to wait your turn. I have no problem with waiting my turn. However, me sitting down there and then a group of other people were right beside me and I was, I tried my best to be patient because I know things take time. But after a while I got really frustrated with the amount of time. I wasn’t even called to the front to give my name or to go to triage, that’s the word. I got really upset and I said, you know what, I’ll have to go. Other people who come from far, the villagers, they come from 5, 6, 7 in the morning and having to sit there until 3 in the afternoon. They really need to look into getting more doctors because just imagine a whole community and villages coming from far to the same hospital and only two doctors are there, or three. I got that information personally from one of the workers who were there. She told me there’s only three doctors and one of them is doing data entry. The whole entire polyclinic was filled with people, plus waiters, and only two doctors are working. Two doctors, three doctors is really little. I think it needs to go up to at least four or five. Something that can let the people come in and go out. I’m not saying speed, you know. I’m just saying three hours, four hours, five. People have been there eight hours, they told me, before they got tended to. And if they are not seeing it at the hospital, at the ministry, what needs to happen for them to change this? Somebody to die in the waiting area?”
Arnold says she became increasingly distressed as her son’s condition continued to deteriorate while they waited without being seen. Frustrated and concerned, she eventually made the decision to leave the public facility and seek care from a private doctor. She explained that doing so required dipping into her personal savings to ensure her child received treatment. While she was able to cover the cost, Arnold says her experience left her deeply worried about families who do not have the financial means to turn to private healthcare when public services fail to respond in a timely manner. Arnold is now calling on the Ministry of Health and Wellness to urgently address the situation, stressing that improvements are needed to ensure patients, especially children, receive prompt and adequate medical care at public health facilities.
English (US) ·