Is Port of Spain General Hospital Safe?

From time to time I receive information that could be considered to be of urgent National importance and this is definitely one of those times. On Monday the 13th of September 2010 I published an article that asked if the Port of Spain General Hospital was safe and despite comments from engineers and architects that there were reasons for serious concern there had been no follow up. Almost two years later the structural integrity of the Hospital is once again making news despite the trite remarks of the Minister who is reported to have said last week  that it looks 'okay' to him. Mister Minister with all due respect that is a gross dereliction of duty and an abdication of responsibility. Those in authority with responsibility for the maintenance of the nation's hospitals should be held criminally liable if they take no action to safeguard the public should the worst occur, and we again call on the Minister to take a serious look at what is alleged here.

For your elucidation, here again is the meat of the matter of what was forwarded to me by professionals knowledgeable in the fields of architecture and structural engineering:

"In recent decades, whenever there has been a severe hurricane or earthquake in the Caribbean, hospitals have suffered as much damage as less important facilities. We do not need to be reminded about the Haitian earthquake, but we may need to be reminded about hospitals knocked out of action in Dominica, Jamaica, Montserrat, Antigua, Saint Maarten, St Kitts and Grenada in the past three decades.

For nearly two decades engineers with a knowledge of the fundamentals of earthquake-resistant design who have visited the Port of Spain General Hospital have been commenting on the clearly and seriously vulnerable concepts of the six story Main Central Block.  It is understood that this was brought to the attention of the authorities as long ago as the early 1990s and on several subsequent occasions.

The reasons for the concerns would be obvious to many knowledgeable professionals – architects and engineers working in areas subject to earthquakes.  The reasons are manifest because they have to do with the fundamental geometrical characteristics of the Central Block.  In determining the vulnerability of buildings to earthquakes the shape of the building and type and configuration of the structure are very important. In many buildings these characteristics can be assessed, at least in a preliminary sense, without detailed analysis. Such is the case with the Central Block. The casual, but observant, visitor to the Hospital could also notice distress to some of the columns in this building.

It would not be surprising if the Central Block collapsed during an earthquake of the severity envisaged by the recommended standards for Trinidad.
In January this year a number of oxygen tanks exploded in the intensive care ward of a hospital in the Ukraine causing three floors to collapse and killing 16 people. To compound the structural problems of the Central Block, the main oxygen storage facility for the Hospital is located very close to the building. Is this safe?
All of these features are noticeable to any private visitor to the Hospital who happens to be observant and knowledgeable about earthquake-resistant design of buildings. Something can, and should, be done about this as an urgent matter."

It is not overstating the obvious to emphasise the level of preventable risk being discussed here, and I would like to ask the Honorable Prime Minister to look into this matter as a matter of urgency as, should we suffer a serious earthquake or other catastrophe, it would certainly be better for all if the General Hospital did not collapse.

If I were in her shoes I would dispatch the Minister of Health to conduct an urgent evaluation and verification exercise as to the veracity of these claims, and to take immediate steps to evacuate the areas of the facility most vulnerable to collapse.

It would be wise that those with interests and qualifications in these types of matters be included in a discussion with a view to an effective solution, as it is much better to be safe than sorry.