It has bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and to wash down the food is a glass of cold milk.
That has been the meal for mentally ill patients at the Point Fortin Extended Care Centre (PFECC) for the past week since running out of cooking gas.
Life at the centre could have been worst after staff tried to install a 25 lb tank on the compound. It resulted in a female cook having one of eyebrows burnt off when the flames flared up from the stove. It was later found that the gas was leaking from the tank’s valve.
Staff said it was beyond frustration as the patients have begun to complain.
As a result, many of them cannot take their medication, making them irritable.
One employee said meals were usually made at the Point Fortin Area Hospital but since the kitchen there was being repaired, staff the Centre were being used to provide food for patients at both facilities.
As a result, gas consumption went up and a 110 lb tank, which is usually serviced by Ramco Industries Ltd, finished last Saturday.
“We wanted to cook lunch for the patients on Sunday so we sent someone out to get a small tank. The girl was lighting the stove when it blew up and she got her eyebrows burnt off . She did not get bad, bad damage but it you can see how dangerous it is now.
“Since then, the patients have been eating bread three times a day, sometimes with tuna paste, cheese paste or sausages. They get everything cold because we have to form of fire to heat anything.”
They said management was aware of the issue and the problems has been going on too long while the patients suffer.
The Centre is a facility that caters for level 4 and 5 psychiatric patients, some of who are elderly and their family cannot care for them. It accommodates 50 patients at a time.
South West Regional Health Authority CEO Anil Gosine said he was not aware of the problem but would check with his facilities manager in Point Fortin to see what issues are there.