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By Leon SuseranNurses residing at the Nurses’ Hostel at 25 Charles Place, New Amsterdam, claim that they are being stalked and terrorised by intended thieves. According to the nurses, they are living in constant fear and the building does not have adequate security and lighting. Except for their cellular phones, they have no access to outside, in terms of communication.The nurses,Johnny Cueto Giants Jersey, who hail from the Corentyne and other far-flung areas, are pursuing different programmes at the School of Nursing in Vryman’s Erven, New Amsterdam, and have been residing at the hostel for just over two months. They do not feel safe in the building (despite its being grilled) and on at least two occasions recently, they encountered men trying to gain entry into the building.One of the nurses said that she had a horrifying experience last Sunday during the wee hours.“I was wide awake when I heard movement outside. An individual who was standing in the yard started to point a flashlight into the building. Within a split second, you start hearing banging on the window. By time then, I called the police.”The police told her that they would send a patrol.She then heard a noise like that of someone banging on the garage door in the yard.“The person was already at my window… opened my window and started hitting at the grill. So I called back the police. He (the man in the yard) was persistent… he wanted to get into the building. I screamed and shouted for help because there was another nurse upstairs. I fell to the ground while trying to get through my bedroom door. There was another man on the other side at the window there with another light. They already take out a louvre pane and open the window and so,Andre Burakovsky Capitals Jersey,” the nurse added. She stated that the two persons wore masks.“I just keep screaming, screaming…and about 15 minutes after the patrol came. Came for what? I do not know. They (the men) were already gone. If it was something more serious, I would have been injured or hurt, whatever they wanted to do with me,Gary Medel Chile Jersey, they would have done,” she opined.There are presently four nurses who reside in the bottom-flat of the building and a few more who live upstairs. They claim that they had related their plight of need for improved security and better lighting to the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU), who had promised to investigate and lend assistance.The outer part of the hostel only has one working light bulb. There is an abandoned guard hut in the yard. The nurses also complained that the building floods easily every time it rains.After last Sunday night’s incident, the young ladieswere quite upset.“Yesterday, I was so traumatised. I cried all day. I didn’t even have a pleasant night rest. It’s really hard. You can’t study, you can’t focus. You would be lying on the bed, but you’re not sleeping,” said one of the nurses.They were also targeted last Friday,Noah Syndergaard Mets Jersey, and now stay awake in shifts to keep watch.“We informed everybody. It’s not going anywhere. We’ve got to try for ourselves. Nobody is showing any concern.”The nurses said they made statements at the Central Police Station and detectives came and looked at the building.There are occurrences which highlight their vulnerability.“Somebody pushing their hands in (through a window), I don’t know why. Some mornings I wake up,J. D. Martinez Orioles Jersey, I know my (mosquito) netting was pulled. I don’t take it serious, but obviously somebody was there pulling it,” said one of the nurses, whose bed is near to a window.The women are fearful of a repeat of the Linden Hospital incident in 2008 when a nurse was attacked and raped at that facility.“Because of negligence,Cleveland Indians Carlos Santana Jersey, if it was secured or had security and protection, nothing like that would have occurred. People’s wives,Ron Francis Penguins Jersey, mothers and children are out here; no one to protect them, no safety,Miiko Albornoz Chile Jersey,” one nurse said.“I don’t think anywhere in this building is safe. We need safety and protection. We can’t be functioning well here at all,” said another of the women.The N/A Hospital Maternity & Dermatology Clinic is located obliquely opposite the nurses’ hostel and there is always a guard stationed there. The nurses emphasised that that is of no significance, since help is never forthcoming.The area is quite dark at night. Directly opposite is the now abandoned and dismantled old N/A hospital, a place where vagrants and drug addicts frequent on a regular basis.Ram Mangru, Branch Representative of the GPSU in New Amsterdam, when contacted, denied that the union received reports from the nurses. Public Relations Officer attached to the New Amsterdam Hospital, Mrs Gloria Beharry,Pedro Alvarez Orioles Jersey, also denied any knowledge about the matter. Several attempts to contact Chief Executive Officer of the Berbice Regional Health Authority, Dr Vishwa Mahadeo, proved futile. |
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