Psychiatric hospital COVID outbreak grows, director says care affected

The cluster of COVID-19 cases at the Psychiatric Hospital has grown slightly by five new cases,with 55 people now being diagnosed with the illness, the health minister said Wednesday as its chief admitted the outbreak has begun to affect the hospital’s care.

But Minister of Health and Wellness Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic insisted the situation is under control, with the rise in numbers currently being seen as an expected development. So far, three staff members and 52 patients have tested positive for the coronavirus, he told journalists as he toured the St. Michael hospital on Wednesday.

Lt Col Bostic said: “I want to say to you that you can expect to have some cases…these are rolling cases. If you cast your minds back to when we were dealing with the prison, this is what will happen, and over time the numbers will go down and like everything else in life this too shall pass.”

Hospital director David Leacock echoed the minister’s assessment that the outbreak is under control, as Ministry of Health officials continue to monitor the situation.

He told journalists: “As the minister would have said, we have had a very comprehensive and all-of-ministry approach to handle the situation here. The isolation team from the QEH (Queen Elizabeth Hospital) remains on site, and they are responsible for all of the clients who tested positive thus far.

“To date, as the minister said, we have 55 persons within quarantine, we have transferred all persons to the same isolation area. So all persons who have tested positive are in the same area.”

The director also acknowledged that the cluster has had some effect on psychiatric services.

Leacock said: “We have seen some pressures on our admitting areas as far as our male and female clients are concerned, that is because the A Ward is the main admitting spaces. Since we have had to quarantine and isolate persons there, we have not had that available for admissions.

“[We’ve] had to make some adjustments, so that we can continue to receive clients who are in need of care at the hospital.”

Leacock also revealed that everyone who came into and out of the hospital since the first cases appeared has been all located.

He said: “We actually managed to locate all persons at this time; we have returned some persons to the hospital, they have been tested, some have been cleared, we have held onto them for a little while to re-test again out of caution before releasing them back into society.

“The same thing for other persons on the outside, their information would have been passed on to the MOH at Black Rock, so they, in turn, can follow through to make sure persons repeat tests if they need to, and be cleared officially.” (SB)