In the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, which is spreading rapidly across the islands and cays of the Bahamas, a video of the clinic in Rock Sound, Eleuthera shows a disgrace of a facility that appears ill-equipped to handle the average patient, much less Covid-19 cases.
"I pray to God Covid-19 don't come to South Eleuthera because God help us all," cried one Rock Sound resident.
The tents behind the dilapidated building are falling apart, they are being held up by rotting poles and are topped by tarps that are holding on by a thread. The grass looks like it hasn't seen a lawnmower in weeks.
"It's a shame to pass here and see something like this and we have people coming to this clinic daily."
"This is what we have come to in Eleuthera. This is how we are being looked at. This is what the nurses have to work with," said the resident.
"I want you to see what island people go through or how the government thinks of us on the island and those in authority," he says as he walks around the outside of the property.
"I'm rather disappointed because this is what we deal with, this is what we give our people, the voters."
"They don't really care about us," he added.
On one of the tents, which is struggling to stay upright, a sign hanging on for dear life reads "Registration, General Clinic Services, Pharmacy" while another sign reminds residents "All persons entering this area must put on a protective mask".
The resident questioned what would happen if Covid-19 spread to Eleuthera and whether health officials would really be able to handle cases given their limited resources.
"This is what we call the shantytown right here. We talk about illegal immigrants but this is what we are dealing with," he continued.
"I want to say to those in authority, those in charge of healthcare, please, the people in South Eleuthera, yes we are people. We don't have a clinic, we have a rental house."
Last summer, South and Central Eleuthera MP Hank Johnson pleaded with the government to address a number of longstanding issues in the community, including the need for proper medical facilities in the constituency.
“This FNM government made a promise to the people of south and central to provide proper medical facilities on the island,” he said during his contribution to the 2019/2020 budget debate.
From the looks of the clinic in Rock Sound, residents are still waiting on that promise to be fulfilled.
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