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In a chilling account, Samantha Ponde’s harrowing experience at JNF General Hospital highlights the persistent healthcare woes that plague the facility, contradicting claims of improvement by Prime Minister Dr. Terrence Drew and his administration. Ponde spent nearly eight agonizing hours at the hospital early Monday morning, enduring severe pain while the emergency department remained chaotic and unresponsive.

Arriving at 2 AM, Ponde faced a staggering wait, with only one patient seen in nearly two hours. In a shocking display of negligence, a two-year-old child suffering from asthma was also left unattended as staff coldly remarked, “Ain’t who come first,” revealing a distressing lack of urgency in treating vulnerable patients.

Ponde’s ordeal escalated as she attempted to get her X-ray form stamped, only to learn she would be charged $50 due to the hospital’s lack of forms, despite her NCI medical card exempting her from payment. Exhausted and in pain, she refused to pay, declaring, “I’m covered, and there’s no way I’m paying $50 for something I’m exempted from.”

The nightmare endured by Ponde is not an isolated incident but a symptom of the broader dysfunction at JNF Hospital. Despite repeated assurances of improvement, the hospital is far from being able to provide the basic care that citizens deserve.