Users of the newly opened St. George's Health Centre on Melville Streets are already voicing concerns about the "poor state" of affairs at the building. This promoted GRENADA TODAY to visit the institution on Tuesday.

A concerned member of staff told this newspaper that it is proving almost "impossible to work" at the health centre since the building is "poorly ventilated". Our News Team saw several patients at the institution who were clearly showing signs of being in some discomfort and were fanning themselves from the heat inside the building.

In the Ante-Natal Clinic, the women were placed in the dark without a fan and nurses were seen attending to them in the dark. According to one staffer, the electrical lights in that section of the building went off since last week Monday and the air condition unit shut down since last Thursday.

GRENADA TODAY was also informed that water comes into the building when rain falls heavily. The water enters from a door at the back of the building. There was only one fan, which was kept at the entrance of the waiting area, leaving the patients at the back to feel hot and uncomfortable.

According to the staff member, the entrance door to the building was left open to allow air in but no air was flowing through the building since it is located between the Police Barracks and a restaurant. This newspaper was told that since government opened the Health Centre a few months ago, the A/C unit has shut down on at least five occasions.

When contacted, Communications and Information Specialist in the Ministry of Health, Keville Frederick, described the problems at the centre as "minor" and laid the blame on the Grenada Electricity Company (GRENLEC).

According to Frederick, the high voltage of electricity coming from GRENLEC power lines was blowing the lighting fixtures and causing the A/C compressor to malfunction. He said the Ministry of Health was holding discussions with the utility company to deal with the issue.

Frederick alleged that five fans were burnt at the Health Centre as a result of the high voltage. He gave assurances that the problem with the rainwater entering the building would be rectified over the weekend since it is difficult to do the work while the clinic is attending to patients.