SWRHA confirms investigation into power outage

Senior Reporter

kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt

The South-West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) has confirmed that it is investigating a power outage at the San Fernando General Hospital laboratory, which disrupted supplies and blood-related services.The confirmation came hours after Dr Lackram Bodoe, former chairman of the SWRHA and now MP for Fyzabad, revealed the issue during his contribution to the Budget debate in the House of Representatives on Thursday.

Bodoe claimed that critical blood products had been compromised due to a power failure, resulting in a shortage of blood products for elective procedures. He further noted that the SWRHA was sourcing blood from across the country, reserving it for emergency cases only.“I raised this because the issue of generators has been raised before at San Fernando and Mt Hope,” Bodoe stated.

In response, the SWRHA issued a media statement on its Facebook page Thursday night, expressing regret over the electrical system failure.

The authority confirmed that the failure had adversely affected laboratory supplies and blood-related services at the hospital on the night of October 9.

The SWRHA assured the public that despite the impact, there was no disruption to other services.

“At this time, the authority has initiated an investigation to determine why its standard internal contingency processes were not activated. The investigative report is expected to be completed within 21 days,” the statement read.

Bodoe, during his contribution, also highlighted additional issues plaguing the SWRHA, including a shortage of ambulances, with many vehicles out of service.

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