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Gunmen invade St Thomas hospital
Bed-by-bed search to kill wounded man
Monday, August 03, 2009
Minister of health Rudyard Spencer has announced heightened security measures for the Princess Margaret Hospital in St Thomas in the aftermath of a brazen invasion of a ward by gunmen Friday morning.
Police report that five gunmen went to the hospital, forced hospital staff at gunpoint to knock down the door to a ward and searched bed by bed for a patient they wanted to kill.
The gunmen fired shots wildly as they searched the main ward of the hospital, police said. They eventually left after discovering that the patient they were looking for was not in the hospital.
Spencer visited the hospital Friday and spoke with traumatised staff. And in a news release afterwards, the health ministry said among measures to tighten security, all entrances to the building would be fitted with grilles, a buzzer system would be installed and a perimeter fence put up on a phased basis.
"We will be looking into additional measures we can take in partnership with the police to improve security at the hospital. We have arranged for counselling for the staff and I'm happy that no one was physically harmed," the release quoted Spencer as saying.
The incident has drawn the ire of the Nurses' Association of Jamaica (NAJ), which condemned the incident and called on the ministry to put in place measures to protect hospital staff.
Head of the NAJ, Edith Allwood-Anderson, told the Observer that the incident was the third invasion of the hospital in recent times.
"This is not the first time. We have had nurses getting threats to their lives," Allwood-Anderson said. "We serve everyone, even the gunmen, and we want the gunmen to remember that it's the nurses who look after them when they need it."
The St Thomas police are now searching for the gunmen who they believe were behind a shooting incident in the district of Pondside last Wednesday. It is believed that the
man they sought was injured in
that incident.
Bed-by-bed search to kill wounded man
Monday, August 03, 2009
Minister of health Rudyard Spencer has announced heightened security measures for the Princess Margaret Hospital in St Thomas in the aftermath of a brazen invasion of a ward by gunmen Friday morning.
Police report that five gunmen went to the hospital, forced hospital staff at gunpoint to knock down the door to a ward and searched bed by bed for a patient they wanted to kill.
The gunmen fired shots wildly as they searched the main ward of the hospital, police said. They eventually left after discovering that the patient they were looking for was not in the hospital.
Spencer visited the hospital Friday and spoke with traumatised staff. And in a news release afterwards, the health ministry said among measures to tighten security, all entrances to the building would be fitted with grilles, a buzzer system would be installed and a perimeter fence put up on a phased basis.
"We will be looking into additional measures we can take in partnership with the police to improve security at the hospital. We have arranged for counselling for the staff and I'm happy that no one was physically harmed," the release quoted Spencer as saying.
The incident has drawn the ire of the Nurses' Association of Jamaica (NAJ), which condemned the incident and called on the ministry to put in place measures to protect hospital staff.
Head of the NAJ, Edith Allwood-Anderson, told the Observer that the incident was the third invasion of the hospital in recent times.
"This is not the first time. We have had nurses getting threats to their lives," Allwood-Anderson said. "We serve everyone, even the gunmen, and we want the gunmen to remember that it's the nurses who look after them when they need it."
The St Thomas police are now searching for the gunmen who they believe were behind a shooting incident in the district of Pondside last Wednesday. It is believed that the
man they sought was injured in
that incident.
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