WE CONDEMN in the strongest possible terms the mass shooting which involved the storming of the compound of the Port of Spain General Hospital (PoSGH) on the night of June 2 by a group of gunmen.
We call for an urgent review of security not only at our largest and oldest hospital, but at all medical facilities in the country, with a view towards the implementation of measures to secure these premises.
The ambush orchestrated at the hospital was particularly outrageous not only because of the scale of the carnage, but also because it took place as the victims were being taken to the Accident and Emergency Department, which is meant to serve a wide catchment area.
And it is disappointing that a breach of this nature could have taken place notwithstanding the long and worrying history of violent incidents on the same compound, complaints from medical professionals for years, and the fact that the victims had only moments earlier been targeted in a brazen assault after a community football match.
Nowhere is safe.
Unfortunately, that has been the case for some time now, especially in the eyes of those who have viewed developments at the PoSGH over the years.
In 2001, a 33-year-old man was murdered there on Ward 51. The killers walked into the hospital, then walked out, seemingly without hindrance.
In the wake of that incident, and the reforms it undoubtedly triggered, further violence still occurred.
In 2019, a 25-year-old man was shot dead on Ward 3 by killers who had put on white hazmat suits.
An escapee in the infamous 2015 jailbreak from the Port of Spain Prison made it all the way to a guard booth of the hospital, where he was killed by police. His exact motive may never be known.
Meanwhile, medical staff vouch to other incidents of gunmen reportedly gaining entry successfully.
As a result of all this, there have been proposals over the years for a range of reforms, such as special maximum-security wards, streamlined entrance and exit points and a permanent police post. The old Belmont police station, which used to adjoin one hospital entryway, was shuttered when a new station was opened some blocks away.
However, the security issue relates not only to PoSGH.
For instance, in 2017, a 31-year-old man was shot dead by two gunmen while sitting on the lawn of the Caura Hospital.
Authorities say there is considerable security at all these facilities, including CCTV coverage.
But worryingly, some doctors still attest to a lack of formal protocols that should be in place to deal with a situation in which criminals have no qualms in striking what should be places of safety.
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