Lack of proper medical facilities on AC causes loss of baby's life

The death of an unborn child early Thursday morning (April 28, 2011) has left a young Ambergris Caye family devastated. It is believed that this most unfortunate incident is as the direct result of the lack of proper health facilities on Ambergris Caye.

The pregnant mother was rushed to the San Pedro PolyClinic II (SPPC) sometime before midnight on Wednesday (April 27th) after she began experiencing complications with her pregnancy. After initial examination by the doctor on call, it was recommended that the mother needed to undergo an urgent C-Section in an attempt to save the unborn child.

The SPPC currently does not house a proper operating facility. As a result it was necessary for the mother to be airlifted to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH). Presently, the only available emergency air transportation service available to the SPPC is BERT- Belize Emergency Response Team; however this service is only offered during the daytime hours, with the cut-off time at 5pm.

A family member who chose to remain anonymous explained that it took almost three hours before the family was able to obtain the chartered service of an airplane from one of the local airlines, which transported the mother to the International Airport and then to Belize City.

By the time the mother got to KHMH, there was not much that could be done to save the unborn child. The mother lost her child shortly after arriving at the KHMH. The question remains, for a community of over 20,000 permanent residents, why is it that we are not equipped with the facilities needed to deal with such emergencies like this one?

Access to airstrip via Tropic Air Hangar is closed

A correspondence containing the following message was received by representatives from the San Pedro Poly Clinic II (SPPC) a couple of weeks ago: "Due to theft and vehicular damage to our aircraft we are forced to close and lock the gate by the Tropic hangar to the airport in San Pedro. Effective immediately no one will be allowed access through our gate to the airport."

In the past, that access - a gate immediately across from the SPPC that led to the airstrip - has been used for emergency access to a waiting aircraft. SPPC Administrator Owen Vellos tells The Sun, "It was very convenient. We would take the patients on stretchers or on the mobile beds and wheel them from our emergency exit directly over to the airplane, which would be situated on the runway immediately in front of the hangar". He further explained, "More than just a convenience, this access was essential as it saved time and in grave emergencies a couple of minutes could be the difference between life and death for the patient."

The San Pedro Sun contacted Mr. John Grief III of Tropic Air to get Tropic's side of the story. "There never was a privilege for the Poly Clinic to use that gate. They never asked and we never granted them permission. They just did it and being San Pedranos, we were willing to help. The problem is that we've had young people who have no reason driving vehicles, driving through there at all hours of the night or day and one of them hit one of our aircrafts. So, we had a vehicle running into a $4 million aircraft and damaging it. That's private property, it's not government property. So, we closed off our property, it's as simple as that," Mr. Grief informed The Sun.

Mr. Grief went on to explain that there are other options for emergency access to the runway, including the entrance at the northern end of the airstrip between the Tropic Air and Maya Island Air terminals. He reiterated that it was unfortunate that they had to take this action in an effort to protect their assets.

San Pedro Sun