Dear Editor,

I write to you today with an overwhelming sense of anger and frustration, echoing the sentiments of countless dedicated health-care professionals at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

It is lamentable that the very individuals who work tirelessly to heal our community are now plagued by an issue that jeopardises their own well-being — the frequent theft of their vehicles from the hospital premises.

Picture this: medical practitioners, after enduring gruelling and exhausting shifts, emerge from the hospital, their only desire being to return home safely to their families; instead, they are met with the harrowing sight of empty parking spaces where their vehicles once stood. This nightmarish scenario has become an all-too-common reality for far too many doctors and staff at UHWI.

Regrettably, it seems that the hospital administration has failed to take adequate steps to secure the vehicles of its dedicated workforce. Their response thus far has been disappointingly lacklustre, limited to the erection of signs proclaiming, “We are not liable,” and the distribution of parking cards that are nothing more than potential vectors for the spread of disease in these challenging times.

We are in the 21st century in which modern security technologies, such as surveillance cameras, have become commonplace, yet none of the local security companies contracted by the hospital seem willing to embrace these advancements. Instead, they persist in offering the bare minimum or, in some cases, even less, in their efforts to safeguard the hospital.

It is past time that we acknowledge that placing a slumbering security guard at each entrance is a woefully insufficient approach to security. We need a comprehensive and sophisticated security plan that doesn’t merely create a facade of safety but genuinely protects our invaluable health-care workers. The installation of surveillance cameras is a relatively inexpensive solution that could make a world of difference.

Hospital administrators must step up and demand more from these contracted security companies. The safety and peace of mind of our doctors and staff should be of paramount concern, and we should settle for nothing less than a robust and effective security system.

It is high time that the UHWI takes concrete actions to address this security crisis. Our health-care heroes deserve better than the ongoing thefts and the feeble attempts at security thus far. We implore the hospital administration to prioritise the safety of its staff and implement modern security measures immediately!

Chevron Malcolm

chevronmalcolm234@gmail.com