As I continue with
my examples, I shall give a short story. A couple of months ago, I had my first
experience with the Port-of-Spain General hospital. My sister was not feeling
well and so we rushed her to the emergency room. On arrival, the security at the
hospital proceeded to tell us to have a seat, take a number and we would be
called shortly. I stared in shock as my mother began to panic, not sure if her
daughter was having a heart attack and being told to wait on a number. Around
one in the morning, we arrived at the hospital at 9:00 pm, we carried my sister
home. Needless to say, half an hour later, we rushed her to St. James Medical
Hospital still in pain. The response there was completely different. She was
immediately attended to and left promptly two hours later.
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| St. James Medical |
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| St. James Medical |
The pictures on the left are showing the
St. James medical hospital. Unfortunately I could not acquire a picture of the
Port-of-Spain general hospital as I was told no pictures could be taken. (I was
told this by the security guard). The structure of the St. James medical
hospital as well as materials seems to contrast heavily with those materials
used in the Port-of-Spain general hospital. The presence of security is also
more prominent in St. James. They are located at the entrance to the compound
unlike Port-of-Spain general where the guard booth is empty very often. Overall
the service offered as well as atmosphere of St. James medical seems to be of a
greater quality than Port-of-Spain general.
Why
is it that both of these hospitals reacted in contradictory manners? Both are
public hospitals. Both had a similar number of emergency patients. The answers
to these are believed to be found in the location of these hospitals. Port-of-Spain
general is located in the heart of the capital city whereas St. James medical
is located on the outskirts of St. James, near to St. Clair and Woodbrook. It again
portrays the distribution of wealth as it seems the wealthier the area you live
the better quality the services will be. This is an important aspect of urban
communities and is noted commonly throughout many of the popular urban areas. Low-class
housing areas usually suffer with less quality services than those with
high-class housing. This is one of the aspects of urban inequalities.
Are both these hospitals public? interesting point of view...i usually hear of private facilities being better that public/government funded ones (eg. Mount Hope vs St. Auguastine Private), but to know that now there is differentiation between public hospitals...it's a scary and shocking phenomenon
ReplyDeleteHave you been to digicel in Curepe and digicel in West Mall? People treat those who are perceived to be "haves" differently from the general population -- customer service is an indicator of this discrepancy, and it may not be structural, but in the attitudes of the staff -- or both?
ReplyDeleteThe effects of capital(ism) are not just material, they are also lived and reproduced in unwritten and deeply engrained codes of behaviour and hierarchical practices that discriminate between the "classes" of human beings.