QEH toasts 56 years of health care

by Anesta Henry

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) is continually researching and improving its standards of care with emerging centers of excellence such as pediatrics, renal transplants, and cardiac care.

In fact, Director of Nursing Services Henderson Pinder said the hospital’s vision over the next ten years is to continue to provide a higher level of care to patients, always improve the quality of care, and expand the services to the community by improving the systems through providing as many career and economic opportunities as possible for staff and the community.

Pinder was speaking at a cake cutting ceremony for the QEH’s 56th anniversary, held in the secondary and tertiary care institution’s Board Room this morning.

He also gave the assurance that the aim is to improve past and present realities so that the hospital will continue to be relevant and valuable as a place of health, hope, healing, respect, and comfort.

“Fifty-six years of existence is a major milestone for this institution. Fifty-six years of health care excellence, 56 years of quality and safety. During the last 56 years, I must say that we have expanded to provide the most innovative and technological comprehensive care package to our patients.

“We cannot celebrate with the major festivities that we are accustomed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this occasion also presents us with a solemn occasion to praise, to look back at this 56-year journey and to look squarely at the future as we contemplate the mountain we must still climb,” he said.

The Director of Nursing Services also indicated that from a modest beginning, QEH’s staff now stands at over 2, 100 persons of various categories.

He said in the face of the COVID-19 challenge, the teamwork demonstrated by staff was commendable, and led to further growth of the nursing and medical professionals.

He added that QEH has also seen significant investment in increased advanced technology and equipment and gradual replacement of obsolete equipment, an effort which he said has been made possible with a quantum investment of $18.8 million dollars by the Government.

“We believe that our staff are a very important resource and need to be treated as such. So when environmental concerns were heightened, the QEH Board sought to address them systematically. To date, we have completed the General Workers Changing Room, the Nurses’ Lounge, refurbishment and remedial cooling of the kitchen, the Fitters and Welders Workshop, and the Biomedical Workshop. The Laboratory remediation work continues and the orderlies section has been covered and work will continue in that area,” he said.

“Our ward upgrade projects continue with philanthropic private sector involvement. Please be aware that all the projects cannot be completed at the same time and we ask you to be patient with us,” Pinder added.

Director of Engineering Services at QEH  Paula Agbowu, was praised at the cake cutting ceremony for the tremendous contribution
she made to overseeing that the Harrison Point Isolation Facility was started and completed on time.

(anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)