Doctors drenched in strange warm water
- strike Commission told

by Wendella Davidson
Guyana Chronicle
August 18, 1999

THE Commission looking into incidents related to the recent public servants pay strike heard yesterday how doctors were held at knife-point and had to scramble into ceilings and grope in the dark to escape murderous demonstrators.

One doctor told of clinging to ceiling pipes which burst and spewed "strange" warm water on him after demonstrators invaded the Georgetown Hospital.

Testifying before the Commission headed by Justice Carl Singh, were Dr. Seodat Pooran and Dr. Vijai Sawh, two of three doctors who had volunteered to work during the night of May 21 at the Accident and Emergency Unit of the hospital.

The strike was in effect and operations at the institution were seriously affected.

Testifying first, and led in evidence by Attorney-at-law Mr. Mortimer Cumberbatch, Counsel for the Commission, Pooran told the Commission that he and Sawh were on duty at about 20:30 hours when a group of about five persons went to the unit seeking medical attention.

With them on a stretcher was a female patient, who claimed she was assaulted by a male and was suffering from abdominal pains.

After the patient was placed on a bed, those with her left the room, but remained by the doorway from where they could have observed what was going on, Pooran recalled. He said he requested that his colleague Sawh examine the patient, while he (Pooran) took a record of some personal information on the patient.

However, on completion of the examination, Sawh reported that he "found nothing wrong with the patient". Pooran, being the senior on duty opted to do a re-examination.

He told the Commission that his findings correlated with those of Sawh.

Pooran said he proceeded to explain to the patient that while the examination revealed that "nothing was seriously wrong with her", he would nevertheless give her an injection to ease her of the abdominal pains of which she complained.

The doctor left to get the medication and on his return was about to administer this when those standing at the door started cursing and threatening him, saying, "The patient is allergic to injections". He was also accused of "trying to kill the woman".

Pooran said as he walked into the room the patient got up and left.

It was then that a male from the group at the door entered the room, took a knife from his pocket, held it at the doctor's neck and ordered, "Put your name on this prescription", adding "the injection is to kill her".

To reassure the man that this was not so, Pooran said he wrote his name and the group left.

Shortly after, another group of about 20 persons, all behaving in an aggressive manner, came into the room and five of them went towards him demanding medical attention. Pooran said the five took up positions all around him as they continued to make the demands for medical attention.

And just as someone from among those who remained at the door threw a bottle in his direction, the doctor said a separate group came in with a critically ill male patient.

The doctor said he left to attend to the patient but was unable to do so properly because of the aggressive behaviour of those from the earlier group.

Fearing for their lives, Pooran said he and Sawh hurried to an adjoining room where he pulled a screen and saw a huge crowd of about 100 persons milling on New Market Street.

The witness further said he realised that if the new gathering should invade the building, with no security around and locks on the doors, they would have been in trouble.

At this point Pooran said his colleague suggested that they "raise a panel" and seek refuge in the ceiling. Climbing up on a cupboard in the room, Sawh raised the ceiling and he first climbed inside, and then turned to help Pooran up.

Pooran said as he held on to a pipe, it broke and he fell to the floor, warm water from the pipe soaking him as he lay there. He made another attempt to get up to the ceiling and when he couldn't make it, he gave up.

At this point, a man entered the room shouting, "You all coolie mudda f......, you all trying to break the strike", dealing him several cuffs to the stomach.

The Police arrived and the man left to join the group and he (Pooran) said he left to check on the critically ill patient. He found that the patient had died.

Sawh collaborated Pooran's evidence.

He said that as he observed the bigger crowd astride bicycles on New Market Street, he feared for his life and when he tried to leave he was collared by a female who roughed him up and kept saying, "You all want to kill her, you all want to kill her"; "The f...... President needs to be changed"; "and "The Government is a waste".

He subsequently succeeded in pulling himself away from the woman after telling her that no one wanted to kill anybody.

Sawh said that after persuading Pooran to get out the place and he climbed into the ceiling and his colleague did not make it, he groped in the dark, losing his way at times until he found an opening and climbed down and found that he was in the Ophthalmology Unit.

The witness said he noticed a Policeman with Dr. Madan Rambarran and reported the matter. They then told him that Pooran was safe.

The final witness was Dr. Devindranauth Sawh who said he had volunteered to work during the entire strike period at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit. He spoke of having difficulty on several occasions as he tried to enter the compound.

Demonstrators who were blocking the hospital entrances would at times abuse him and threaten to "break his car".

On the night of May 21, the witness said he overheard two nurses, whom he recognised, at the entrance of the dispensary saying they had just come from a meeting at the Square of the Revolution. Later that night he heard about the invasion.

Responding to a query from the Judge, he said while working at the A&E Unit, patients would complain about having difficulty in getting into the compound.

Also he had attended to cases where patients said they suffered injuries the day before but not could gain entry before to get medical attention.

With the testimony of the three doctors, the Commission concluded its hearing of evidence in relation to incidents at the Georgetown Hospital.

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