Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh says the majority of the recovering COVID-19 patients at the step-down facility at Brooklyn Settlement in Sangre Grande have agreed to stay there after the Eastern Regional Health Authority took steps to do remedial works at the venue.
However, Deyalsingh says the 30 patients also want a chance to give their side of the story to the media and he has agreed to facilitate this.
He made the comment during the virtual media conference updating the country on the fight to contain COVID-19 on Monday.
Deyalsingh’s comments came a day after the 30 patients, who were transferred to the facility on Saturday, complained of the horrid conditions there and said the facility was not suitable for habitation.
During Monday’s press conference, Deyalsingh seemed to agree with the complaint, saying he advised the ERHA to take immediate steps to rectify the issues after he learned of them. He said this process was completed and he has also asked for an immediate probe into how the venue came to be chosen as suitable for such an exercise.
The minister said while on his way to the press conference he had a conversation with 26 of the patients at the Sangre Grande facility and gave them the option of being transferred to another venue. However, he said they chose not to move, saying they were happy with the efforts made to address their concerns. He said the patients’ biggest concern was that they were still not able to go home and he was undertsanding of this.
More on this story as information comes to hand.
