While flooding in general is an annoyance and nearly impossible to avoid during the rainy season, there are a few places where flooding should never ever happen. Hospitals, for instance, are top on that list. Unfortunately, the general hospital at Shar Taw, located in Kayah State, is going through exactly that.
Yesterday, Eleven talked to the NLD office in Shar Taw, who confirmed that the recent rains had created several major problems for the town’s hospital.
Aye Aye Mon, an NLD employee based in Shar Taw explained: “The hospital employees called and told us that water was getting inside the hospital and they were in trouble. I went to take a look, and the water was up to my ankle. P. The printers, computers, and other electronic devices were also soaked. Instead of air, water was coming out of the air-cons… The x-ray room was also flooded so patients couldn’t get x-rayed.”
In addition to the x-ray room, several other parts of the hospital including the emergency room and the dental department were also completely flooded.
The fact that the hospital only opened in March of last year makes this whole disaster all the more unacceptable. However, it seems that the company who built the hospital — and were hired by the previous government — did a crap job from the beginning. Aye Aye Mon stated: “One hospital employee said that after they [the company] had finished construction and before the hospital was officially opened, he pointed out bits of the ceiling that were falling apart. The company fixed it by taping up the holes and painting over it.”
“Doctors are saying that they’re scared to even come to the hospital. They think that once the rainy season is over, the whole building will collapse.” During her visit, Aye Aye Mon saw doctors and nurses frantically sweeping water out of the hospital rooms.
She confirmed that the Shar Taw NLD office has alerted the local MP’s of what’s happening, so here’s hoping that things get fixed, and fast.
