00:00Health Minister Dr. Lacram Bodo says since the Koover Children's Hospital was reopened by Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Bissessa on
00:07December 7th, 2025,
00:09it has been able to serve hundreds of children in the country.
00:12Operations began a week before the official opening, which included same-day surgical services.
00:18I'm happy to report that some 500, as we speak this morning, some 545 successful surgeries have been completed at
00:27the Koover Hospital.
00:28Now, what we had to be careful about in doing surgeries at the hospital is we met a facility that
00:35was 10 years old,
00:36and therefore we had to be careful that we rolled this out in a phased manner.
00:41According to Dr. Bodo, it has assisted in clearing some of the backlog.
00:45He adds that these results were retained with only three of five operating theatres functioning.
00:51But he questions how much more could have been done over the past decade
00:54had the hospital been utilized by the former administration.
00:59The minister also points to progress relating to pediatric specialist outpatient clinics.
01:04Those clinics will include endocrinology, rheumatology, child development clinic, neurology, nephrology, premature, neonatal and cardiac clinics.
01:16So all of these clinics will commence on the 1st of December, and they continue to run.
01:21I'm happy to report that to date, some 361 children have benefited in the various specialties that I mentioned.
01:31The service falls under the Child Development Clinic, which was formerly housed at the Koover District Health Facility,
01:36carrying out bi-monthly services.
01:39The minister says the clinic now runs every Monday, helping to reduce waiting times for children requiring specialized care.
01:47Dr. Bodo also outlines plans to expand services at the hospital, including cataract and endoscopic surgeries.
01:54Of course, the intention is to roll out and expand laboratory services.
01:59We are also in the process of fixing the CT scan, which was allowed to go down because of lack
02:08of repair.
02:08And, of course, the MRI scans.
02:11According to Dr. Bodo, the Koover Children's Hospital was left to deteriorate,
02:15while there were cries in the health care system about shortages, including that of equipment.
02:20He says the UNC administration found 217 pieces of equipment, totaling $20.68 million, that were never used.
02:29Then there was the issue of non-functional equipment.
02:32In other words, there was a lot of equipment there that would not have been utilized or maintained over the
02:37years.
02:39225 pieces of medical equipment.
02:41The value, $31,947,606,000 Tobago dollars.
02:48Dr. Bodo says the Urban Development Corporation has been attempting to salvage what it can in terms of non-functioning
02:54equipment.
02:55He indicates that 45 pieces of equipment are now obsolete, which come at a $14.29 million loss to taxpayers.
03:02Meanwhile, the minister reveals that a decision was taken through Transport Minister Eli Zakur to make the Koover Children's Hospital
03:10a designated PTSD bus stop.
03:12He says considerations are being given to do the same for all public hospitals.
03:17Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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