The North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA) has released photos of the Covid-19 facility at Caura Hospital. The NCRHA relased the follwing statement.

“The patient isolation facility at the Caura Hospital is a state of the art quarantine facility, with a negative air pressure system and other safety features that make it one of the most advanced patient isolation systems in the world. It is a sanitized isolation building, and the doors are kept locked and secured at all times to prevent breaches and contamination, and always ready to accept new patients.

The building has an intercom system, CCTV coverage, two way radios (GPS) and the room is equipped with a buzzer and a telephone which connects the patient to the nurse’s station. The nurse’s station is manned 24 hours a day. There are also cameras in the room and a monitor which allow the nurses to see the patient. The patient’s room is a standard sized room with a toilet and bath, and there is ample space for walking around. The media was recently taken on a tour of the Caura facility last month where they witnessed a first-hand drill of this quarantine facility. 

The NCRHA has retained the services of a private biosecurity company (SANITEC) for support. Staff in biohazard protective suit. Isolation room screening at NCRHA sites. The staff at the NCRHA have managed in record time to commission new spaces at the Caura and the Couva Hospitals; new clinical spaces, sanitized for use in the event of a surge in the virus. Apart from the structure, the systems and protocols that have been established at the NCRHA quarantine facilities are beyond compare.

Additionally the NCRHA has procured thousands of hand sanitizer systems and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), among which are head coverings; goggles; face shields; surgical mask;, N95 masks; state of the art biohazard protective suits; reinforced surgical gowns; gloves; long cuffed gloves and bootees. The Ministry has also pledged
to provide us with additional supplies.

NCRHA staff have acquired the international best practice for donning and doffing, and have installed appropriate infrastructure, fully equipped with PPEs at all stations and with an established flow to ensure uncompromised infection prevention control. The staff has been trained and master the flow and management of clean areas and dirty areas.

Our staff are the finest in any industry, we are proud of them and will spare no effort to
protect them,” Thomas said. Staff have also attained hazmat capabilities and at both Caura and Couva the doffing
stations are facilitated by Sanitec technicians, and PPEs are treated with chemicals to kill micro-organisms before
they are removed by trained technicians and bagged to be destroyed. We have also established COVIOD 19 sanitization protocols for ambulances where there is – a rapid sanitization response after patients are transported. The NCRHA staff have done yeoman service to this population with the dedication that has been put into all of these aforementioned systems and for the continued service which they give.”