The recent eviction of vendors from the Western Regional Hospital, as part of an effort to rid the facility of a grave rodent infestation, has raised the ire of sellers who earn their living by selling food at the hospital. They contend that in all their years of doing business on the compound, their stalls have not attracted any rats. Nonetheless, they have been removed from that location on the orders of the Ministry of Health. According to C.E.O. Doctor Peter Allen, the objective is to eradicate the problem before addressing the issue of returning the vendors to the location.
Dr. Peter Allen, CEO, Ministry of Health
Dr. Peter Allen
“Essentially, what we asked was for our technical officers to go in with the management and staff of the Western Regional Hospital and to develop a plan for dealing with this really outrageous problem. Now, part of that plan was clearing the yard, part of it was clearing holes and sealing holes, part of it is replacing screens and doors, part of it is rodenticiding and the use of chemicals and traps. Part of it is going into the neighbors’ yards which have not been cleared and cleaning those and doing our best to make sure they stay clean and part of it was that the Public Health Inspectorate recommended that for right now the vendors where the structure is not considered appropriate should be moved with the understanding that once the problem is controlled that we should be able to create a better environment for the vendors to return to.”
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