Spat over shabby porters' lodge
Published:Sunday | July 22, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Tyrone Reid, Senior Staff Reporter
Tasked with keeping the Kingston Public and Victoria Jubilee hospitals clean, the janitors employed by Lamasa Limited are operating from a building that turns stomachs.
What's left of the doors to the ramshackle building cannot keep anything out.
Several window panes are missing, the lockers in the changing room are rusty, the bathrooms decrepit and the section used to mix the chemicals used to clean the hospitals is downright unsanitary.
While the central nervous system of the hospital's cleaning operations is located in a decrepit building to the rear of the Kingston Public Hospital's (KPH) property and raises questions about proper hygiene, there is an ongoing spat over who should repair to the building.
On the one hand, Lamasa Limited - the company hired to provide porterage and janitorial services to the hospital - says it is the hospital's responsibility to fix the building.
On the other hand, the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) believes Lamasa should undertake the repairs.
liability
When contacted about the state of the building housing the janitors, as well as the porters, Anserd Williams, senior vice-president of Lamasa Limited, argued that the contract with the hospital imposes a liability upon the state-operated facility to provide proper accommodation for the workers.
"Under the contract, the hospital is obligated to provide us with a place to work from, adequate storage and the necessary basic furnishing. It is a part of the contract," said Williams.
He further argued that his company could do nothing to the building because it is owned by the government.
Williams also claimed the space was too small to house the close to 300 janitors and porters that use it 24 hours per day for the seven days of the week.
"The building is cramped. It was supposed to be a temporary location," lamented Williams.
He said the unsightly state of the building is largely due to the poor structure and not because it is not cleaned.
"Somebody is assigned to clean it on a daily basis. It is just a rundown building," said Williams.
He continued: "It was not adequate from day one. It is something we discuss from time to time. Whenever it rains we can't access the building, the office floods and over time the door rotten down."
Meanwhile, Lyttleton Shirley, chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), told The Sunday Gleaner that he is aware of the poor state of the building housing the janitors.
"I've been there. It is an area we have challenged management to improve," said Shirley.
However, he believes Lamasa could play a greater role in improving the facilities.
"I see no reason, if Lamasa is occupying a space that they are not paying rent for, why can't they invest in improving the physical space for the benefit of their own staff. There is no excuse," argued Shirley.