STAFF and patients of the Point Fortin psychiatric outpatient clinic are calling on the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) to provide a safer and more sanitary location for them while hospitals in the area are used to house covid19 patients.

They said it is the second time in the past few months that they have felt like an afterthought.

The clinic is held on the first and third Thursday of each month. Previously, it was held at the old Point Fortin Hospital at Volunteer Road, Mahaica.

[caption id="attachment_896292" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The prefabricated container in which the Point Fortin psychiatric outpatient clinic now operates. - Narissa Fraser[/caption]

After the new hospital was opened, this was the only clinic and the only service to remain at the old building, although the new building has a psychiatric ward.

When Newsday asked why the clinic was not being moved, a senior SWRHA official said, “Mentally challenged patients are more difficult to manage.”

The old hospital is now a covid19 step-down facility and as a result the psychiatric clinic has been temporarily moved to the Point Fortin Extended Care Centre in Warden Road.

Staff said they were shocked when they saw the condition of the small, white prefabricated container in which they are now expected to treat patients.

[caption id="attachment_896291" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The prefabricated container in which the Point Fortin psychiatric outpatient clinic now operates. - Narissa Fraser[/caption]

Boxes of patient files were dumped on a dirty floor and they were told to be careful because there is a “rodent infestation.”

It is also surrounded by very tall grass and the waiting area is a small corridor.

Staff and patients said they need the SWRHA to understand, “These people are still human beings.”

The caretaker of one patient said, “Just because someone has a mental condition doesn’t mean you could just dump them where you want. Why do we have to be standing in mud and cramped up like this?”

[caption id="attachment_896293" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The prefabricated container in which the Point Fortin psychiatric outpatient clinic now operates. - Narissa Fraser[/caption]

Staff said they will ask the SWRHA to be moved to a new location within the next few weeks.

Newsday's calls to SWRHA CEO Dr Brian Armour went unanswered.

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