Government to construct Geriatric facility at Waterford

The Geriatric Hospital is to be relocated to Waterford Bottom, St Michael in the vicinity of the Botanical Gardens.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley made that announcement on Wednesday as she expressed fresh concerns about the island’s dwindling and aging population and the disappointing treatment of the elderly, and outlined plans by the Government to offer more assistance to that segment of the population.

She said it was costing the Government about $25 000 per month to keep “abandoned” elderly individuals at the state-run Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where the Ministry of Health continued to contend with “the difficulties of accommodating individuals on a long-term basis who may not need the services of an acute primary care hospital”.

She described that situation as unsustainable, and also expressed concerns about the situation at the Geriatric Hospital in Beckles Road, St Michael, which has more than 200 patients and is costing the Government about $5 500 for each patient there.

“We have a plant that was built easily in the 19th century, if not before, and for anybody who is a nurse in the Geriatric Hospital, they will tell you the difficulty of being able to navigate with the movement of senior persons in that environment is extreme and acute. Those who sit on the Government’s emergency management team will also tell you that with every serious flood or hurricane that threatens this nation, the first question is, ‘do we have to move the patients of the Geriatric Hospital?’,” said Mottley.

“As a result, my Government has taken the decision that we have to relocate the Geriatric Hospital and we need to have a purpose-built facility that allows us to treat to the most acute needs of those who are elderly and who do not have the support systems or finances in order to be able to finance themselves. And we will do that, we pray and hope, at Waterford, within the environs of the Botanical Gardens.”

Mottley did not give a timeline for the construction of the new facility.

She said that in addition to that plan, it was important that the Government continue to expand and review the Alternative Care of the Elderly Programme (ACEP), which was established in 2000.

Under this arrangement between the private sector and the Ministry of Health, the Government provides monthly subsidies to the tune of about $2 500.

“This country must come to grips with the fact that we will be defined by how we take care of those who helped to build this nation, and it is therefore critical for the Government to have a multi-disciplinary approach to the provision of services for elderly persons in this country,” she insisted.

Mottley said preliminary data from the National Population Commission, which was established two years ago to conduct research on Barbados’ population growth, showed the country was in need of between 80 000 and 100 000 people to sustain the labour force.

She described the projected shrinkage of the population over the next decade as “the equivalent of a train coming at us”. She reiterated that it would be critical for Barbados to manage migration to help build the population to ensure there are sufficient people working “to sustain those who are elderly with the dignity with which they would want to be sustained”.

The Prime Minister said the depletion in the island’s population over the past three decades did not augur well for the future.

“If this generation and this Government does not correct it, it will spell further difficulties for the people of this nation. To that extent, therefore, how we treat to aspects of it will be important. The aging population is going to need support,” she declared, adding that providing that support required an outside-the-box approach.

Mottley indicated that the Government was willing to offer concessions for private sector investors who were willing to provide senior citizens living accommodation here, insisting “there has to be a public-private partner approach to resolve these matters”.

She also announced that her administration would soon be rolling out a personal support programme that would see individuals who have appropriate training being able to provide support for senior citizens in communities across the country.

“Some of them are doing it out of the goodness of their heart, but in truth and in fact, if we were to put structured training and some level of support so that it is not by serendipity or accident but by their job, we will find that we will be able to deliver a level of service within communities across Barbados at a cheaper cost than any of those prices that I have indicated to you,” said Mottley.

The Prime Minister gave no indication of how that initiative would impact the National Assistance Board which has responsibility for the care of the elderly.