Fiennes nurses fearful after reported encounter with HIV- positive intruder on ward

The mostly female nurses of the Fiennes Institute are fearful and
concerned for their safety after an unauthorized man was
encountered on a ward of the poorly secured compound.
The frightened women tell REAL News he is a recently released
sex-offender who, allegedly, is mentally unstable and HIV-
positive.

On Thursday night, April 4, at about 8:30 pm, several staff
members and a resident reportedly caught sight of the suspicious
character on a ward. He was well dressed, they say, but was
wearing a black hoodie.

When confronted and asked what he was doing there, the
intruder is alleged to have responded with profanities and rushed
off.

The alarm was raised on the other ward, security was called, and
the man was chased off the compound, reports say.

The master and matron of the old-age facility were apprised of
the incident, and a complaint was also made to the Police, who
reportedly confirmed the man’s identity and advised the staff to
be careful.

However, the staff are asking how careful they can be when the
premises are not properly secured.

One employee detailed the specific unsafe areas on the compound
– which, for security reasons – REAL News will not report.
However, among their concerns is that the security officers
assigned to the Fiennes are not reliable. Sometimes, they call in

sick and then take up assignments at other locations, the staff
allege.

They further allege that officers have told them they are assigned
to secure the buildings – and not the Fiennes residents, the nurses,
nor their vehicles.

Adding to the concerns of the staff is that some patient rooms and
other areas on the wards have no working light bulbs.
Accordingly, the nurses say, they must either use their cell-phone
torches or leave the doors to the rooms open when attending
their patients at night.

This compromises both the privacy and the dignity of the
residents, they note.

Given their frightening experience on Thursday night, the staff are
calling for the gates and locks to be reinforced or replaced and for
the lighting situation to be improved for the safety of all.
The Fiennes Institute falls within the portfolios of Health Minister
Molwyn Joseph, while responsibility for the maintenance of public
buildings belongs to Works Minister Maria Browne.