Second 24-hr clinic next year

Government’s promise of 24-hour healthcare services at the David Thompson Health and Social Services Complex in St John could become a reality from as early as the first quarter of 2020, Minister of Health and Wellness Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic has revealed.

On Wednesday, he told Barbados TODAY that Government’s manifesto promise to provide the service would be honoured with an injection of nurses from the West African nation of Ghana. They are expected to arrive in January.

Bostic revealed he was awaiting a report from the delegation of high-level healthcare officials who recently conducted a recruitment drive in Ghana and indicated according to preliminary reports that the nurses were ready and willing to sign onto the 24-hour programme.

“Initial indications suggest to me that everything went quite well and we will be getting the number of nurses that we went to recruit and the staff in the ministry is putting together the cabinet paper and proposal for the start of the service at the David Thompson Health and Social Services Complex in St. John, so that is now in process,” disclosed the health minister.

He however stressed: “No date has been set at this time and that will not be until next year, because we don’t anticipate that the nurses will be here before January next year, so we are looking to do it in the first quarter of next year.”

If successful, the St. John facility would become the second polyclinic to make the transition to a 24-hour centre  after a bumpy start at the Sir Winston Scott Polyclinic in June this year with staffing concerns emerging as a major bone of contention for the Barbados Nurses’ Association (BNA) and the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW).

Efforts to reach BNA President, Joannah Waterman were unsuccessful, but acting General Secretary of the NUPW Delcia Burke indicated the union had no problems with government extending the 24-hour service if those asked to work consent to the altered hours.

“I guess they will assign the nurses from Ghana, I don’t know, but they can’t force anybody from the polyclinics to work it. So, I believe they will be dealing with those who volunteer in the same way they did at the [Sir Winston Scott] polyclinic,” Burke told Barbados TODAY while adding that so far, nurses have been satisfied with the situation there.

“My understanding is that they have tried to integrate some of the fast-track nurses into the system, but we advised them that if they have not volunteered to work, work the hours that you are accustomed to working. As far as I know, they have been no repercussions and there have been no problems that have been brought to our attention.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health indicated 3500 patients have been using the service at Sir Winston Polyclinic monthly.

“That is mostly between 6 a.m. and midnight and then the numbers from midnight to 6 a.m. are now averaging around 15 or so. They were lower than that. Things are starting to pick up and we are now operating in greater synergy with the Accident and Emergency department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in terms of being able to transfer persons from one institution to the other and the transportation aspects that were required to facilitate that process particularly in that midnight to 6 a.m. period.

“So the service so far has been very well utilized and that in itself really is a success and we are using the information that we have been able to gather from that service to be able to guide us as to how we should proceed with the 24-hour service at St. John,” Bostic promised. kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb