Wesley MP calls for speedy address of Marigot Hospital situation

Bazil described the situation as an 'attack on the health system'
Bazil described the situation as an ‘attack on the medical system’

Parliamentary Representative for the Wesley Constituency, Ezekiel Bazil has called on Minister of Health, Dr. Kenneth Darroux to take immediate actions to address the situation at the Marigot Hospital.

Authorities were forced to temporarily shut down the hospital due to mold and fungus.

Dominica News Online understands that the hospital has been going through issues for some time now and plans were made to have it renovated as a trauma centre.

However Bazil told DNO that “nothing has been done.”

“I am calling on the Minister of Health to take immediate action correct these measures,” he told DNO on Thursday. “The government must seek to address this situation early because this has the potential to get out of hand and people will suffer. The situation as it is, it has the potential to see the demise of people and I am not prepared to sit by and look at government’s intent and deliberately moving to destroying the medical services in the district and the Commonwealth of Dominica.”

He believes that the Marigot and Portsmouth Hospitals must be strengthened, in light of the construction of the new Princess Margaret Hospital.

“I would like to think that the intention then should be to strengthen the Marigot Hospital and the Portsmouth Hospital, because really what you need to do you would have to reduce the traffic of sick persons to the PMH,” he stated. “If they strengthen the Marigot and Portsmouth Hospital it would be in essence seeking to reduce the number of persons from the Kalinago Territory moving way down as far as Colihaut, because you would have had these to hospitals to facilitate and service the districts.”

He described the situation as an attack on the medical system.

“It is unfair and a number of persons will feel it when they are sick,” Bazil remarked. “It is a serious problem.”

He said the opposition United Worker Party (UWP) position is that government must pay urgent attention to the Marigot Hospital.

“We are not going to sit there and look at our people die as flies,” he stressed. “It has nothing to do with Marigot, Wesley or Woodford Hill, it has to do with the health system within the Commonwealth of Dominica.”

The services provided by the Marigot Hospital have been moved to the Wesley Health Center.

A meeting of the residents of Marigot took place on Thursday evening to discuss the matter.

In light of the closure, the Ministry of Health and Environment is expected to hold a press conference on Friday, June 10, 2016, at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Health and Environment (4th floor Government Headquarters) from 11:00 am to bring the public up to date on the issue.

The Marigot Hospital was first shut down in 2014 because of a severe termite infestation.

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27 Comments

  1. DRASTIC
    June 11, 2016

    Ex Minister of Health stated a Trauma Centre was to be built in Marigot. Really? Why do politicians tell so many lies? And I will always quote the late E O Leblanc who said publicly Dominicans have “memoire poule”.Another question: Why doesn’t government allocate funds for continuous maintenance for buildings and equipment? These all have to get to a stage of breakdown then the expense gets so great and they have to go beg for funds to replace them. We seem to be getting nowhere in this Waitukubuli!

  2. UDOHREADYET
    June 10, 2016

    What has Lennox done? They voted him as their Parlrep… he busy trying to raise money for himself to pay people for all the marlparlay he marlparlay them!

    all that money he raised should have been for the Hospital in his constituency not for his personal use.

  3. Duncekyat
    June 10, 2016

    Let the MP for Wesley resign and call a bye-election, and see how fast the DLP Money Train will arrive to fix the hospital. The Money Train is fueled by DLP self-interest, not citizen’s interest. But it’s ok peeps, go back to your blissful slumber. You’re just a butterfly dreaming that you’re a Dominican!

    • Intelligence
      June 10, 2016

      DLP self interest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you actually have the unmitigated gall to even say that

      What is the UWP interest but to pay Linton court bill instead of using that money to help its supporters

      • Duncekyat
        June 10, 2016

        @pseudo-Intelligence:

        UWP money is private funds, they can do whatever the heck they want with it. On the other hand, DLP is using precious state resources to further their self interest while the masses are suffering. Big Difference. So wheel and come again!

      • %
        June 10, 2016

        Why does it hurt you that the hard workers of of Dominica are helping their leader..You are lazy and unemployed,you can’t even help yourself…Why can’t our passport money be used to repair this hospital????This is the question that needs to be answered.

  4. LOL…these so-called UWP Politicians and supporters are truly lame ducks. They have no voice in Parliament, always being effectively blocked from raising pertinent issues by the one-sided speaker of the house. Issue after issue they go on a campaign of “education” and “information” which clearly is not resonating with a tired and fed up support base. They have one media outlet to publicize their views and positions during the day, hosted by a radio personality whose main interest is selling advertisements and making commercial stops. As their supporters become fired up about an issue the politicians come in and seize the day with meetings and talk, talk and more talk effectively KILLING the momentum. They make demands after demands that are laughed at and ignored by this (one man) Government and they still insist on making demands. They fail to realize that this Government will begin to respect them and the power they possess only AFTER action is taken!!!

  5. My View
    June 10, 2016

    That labour administration is too wicked. In the last budget debate 4 million dollars was allocated for a health Centre in Vieille Case. Right now there are only 25 students in Vieille Case Primary School. If this not wickedness and victimization, tell me what it is.

  6. What
    June 10, 2016

    Did the DPL just awaken a sleeping giant? Did you feel asleep at the wheel? Prior to the DLP examination of the issue you did not have a voice, rather you were busy playing the role of an antagonist, now you want a speedy process go back to sleep boy.

  7. dave
    June 10, 2016

    SMH. Why is the MP for Wesley and not the MP for Marigot addressing the Issue? Incompetent and Lazy that’s what the MP for Marigot is.

    • Unknown
      June 10, 2016

      It affects all the communities there when the people do not have a hospital to take care of their sick. Imagine an emergency in one of those communities; can the health centre deal with that? How long will it take an ambulance to get a critically ill person to Roseau?

      In the event of an emergency that hospital can at-least stabilise someone, therein saving a life of people from castle Bruce all the way down to Bense .

      It is a shame that a sitting government can allow such a vital building to deteriorate to such extremes. For years that hospital has been deteriorating and nothing was done to save that institution. A hospital in that area is essential. Roseau hospital can barely house the patients it gets on a daily basis, why not keep a hospital to serve the needs of people in that area? Don’t they deserve medical care?

      The health centres are not the same as a hospital and definitely not equipped to save lives in critical conditions!

      • Speak My Mind
        June 10, 2016

        Have you been to the hospital before it closed…. it could hardly help someone cure a cold. The distance to travel to town is practically the same. Are you even from the area? The last time i counted Dominica only had one registered hospital. What marigot had was just a big over night health center.

    • %
      June 10, 2016

      How can you tell the MP for Wesley which the hospital serves that it is the Marigot MP to address the matter..Well for your information I have heard Honourable Linton talk on this issue more than 1000 000″ times..They should stop the talking and ACT now!!!

      • Speak My Mind
        June 10, 2016

        Maybe Mr. Linton can have another fund raiser and we can use that money to build a Hospital. What do you say, am ready to contribute.

      • %
        June 10, 2016

        @Speak My Mind Why not sell more diplomatic passports to crooks and criminals.Have you heard the names.NG Lapseng,Alison Madueke,Rudulph King,Francisco Corollo,etc….Go di some reading.

    • truth
      June 10, 2016

      dave ,why are you jealous of linton, what have he done to you?,than championed the cause in your favour
      dave ,every good thing taking place in dominica now , is because of linton, and you know that,and what you think or say is not gonna change that , ,you seem so selfish ,and do not love your country,
      lennox might well be the reason that you still have the freedom of speech that you are now using to denigrate him,only fools despise wisdom ,, and ,in the abundance of water ,a fool is thirsty,
      do you see yourself dave ?where does you fit in?,you need some independency

      • Dominican too!
        June 11, 2016

        I agree with Bazil on this one. To me it does not matter if he is the actua parl rep. His constituents are at risk too. Let’s not fight each other on this one for health is wealth! But please it is not possible to be jealous of Lennox. Angry, frustrated, even pity, but not jealous!

    • smmfh
      June 10, 2016

      both have raised the issue. this article only focuses on the brief interview with Mr. Bazil.

    • ATKINSON
      June 10, 2016

      Its because the government is telling people, that medical services, that was available at the marigot hospital now has to go to the wesley health center. So it also affects his constituency, Not because of the lazyness

    • Intelligence
      June 10, 2016

      this is a profound observations Mr. Dave, a real great one

  8. More talk as usual!!!

  9. Buy-Election
    June 10, 2016

    Skerrit must stop playing with fire, and stop hurting people communities that are not for sale.

    Dominica has been an independent island since 1978 and our record should remind him that we have past several prime ministers and governments, from Dlp, Oj Seraphin’s government, the DFP, the UWP, the Rosie and Pierro DLP, and now again, and Skerrit DLP.

    Skerrit needs to be reminded that he was a freedomite and was free to support his party,
    Skerrit must be reminded that despite the fact that we have past so many governments in our short history, no administration NEVER went on a campaign to destroy communities that don’t support them, even if Mamo rightly said her eyes will fall on those that supported her first.

    When Skerrit became PM he met three villages that were UWP strongholds, and here is how he treated them: Thibaud, in his constituency: he closed their school; Salsbury: He destroyed their livelihood; Marigot: he closed their hospital. Enough is enough &talk time…

    • Speak My Mind
      June 10, 2016

      Thats just garbage. If they left the hospital open and people got sick and died but but you would say SKERRIT THAT KILLED THEM!! be logical people.

  10. %
    June 10, 2016

    In an attempt to punish constituencies that voted the UWP,this EVIL administration,which uses the name Labour Party, is punishing Dominica…This hospital is so close to our main airport?This square peg in round called Skerrit fritters away so much money!!!The PEOPLE SHOULD ACT!!!

    • Speak My Mind
      June 10, 2016

      So why dont you go and build one your self.. its not as easy as say you want a hospital and u can one. they have to find a suitable area, run a whole bunch of test to ensure that it is not contaminated, think about the structure etc. It takes a lot of planning. If they build a quick thing and it turns out to be garbage I wonder what you would say now?

      • AAGabriel
        June 13, 2016

        Isn’t 15 years enough? How long do you think is reasonable?

  11. White Plains Rd
    June 10, 2016

    The reason this continues to happen is the fact that the citizens aren’t together and not organized allot of talk talk and more talk..but trust me they will not act forceful..

    dominica is filled with many coward ppl..everyone is selfish in the own way.thus it’s difficult to eradicate this labour regime…too much indifference by a confused society..

    from listening there is one guy in marigot who calls about next step of action, come on..u have to strike in the dead of night, but it’s one thing to be educated so call? and another aspect to have common sense? major facts…

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