Head: QEH following the process

Some staff members in the kitchen of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) have been calling for its closure after a colleague in that section recently tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

But Executive Chairman Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland has said the kitchen is too critical a facility to shut down and alternative measures have been implemented to protect those workers.

A number of kitchen staff told Barbados TODAY after the positive case was made known, management allowed employees to continue operations as usual and did not ask them to get tested.

One staff member claimed they were afraid to return to work and in a quandary as to whether to stay home or report for duty.

“The staff member was transferred to Harrison’s Point and it is business as usual. They have not even asked us to get tested. I don’t know what to do…I frighten to go back in there,” an emotional worker complained.

However, in a response today, Bynoe-Sutherland outlined the hospital’s policy and process in addressing issues of this kind.

“It is the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s policy that when a staff member comes into contact with a COVID-positive patient or other staff and they are wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment and following recommended hand hygiene protocols, they are at low risk of exposure,” she said.

“Following any potential staff exposure, this type of risk stratification is done on a case-by-case basis and COVID-19 PCR testing is subsequently conducted for the staff. In some cases, persons are asked to stay at home while awaiting test results. However, in cases where the contact is farther removed, persons may continue to work,” the executive chairman stated.

“As mass absenteeism would cripple service delivery, this risk stratification strategy has worked well for the QEH to date and allowed us to maintain service continuity while carefully balancing staff safety with essential patient care,” Bynoe-Sutherland contended.

The QEH head explained that the daily meal service provided by the kitchen is very critical to patient care and recovery.

“The QEH kitchen currently provides meals for QEH in-patients as well as patients at the Enmore Isolation Centre, Blackman and Gollop Isolation Centre and a private nursing home in St. John. When the incident in question was reported to the management team, Lee Ann Salandy, Executive Director of Support Services met with Head Chef Angela Garraway-Holland and staff of the department and reviewed the staff COVID-19 exposure policy with them,” she pointed out.

“Not only were the staff removed from the space and the kitchen sanitized during the off-peak period, but staff are also being tested for COVID-19 in phases. The approximately seven staff members in closest proximity were tested over the weekend and others will be tested over the course of this week in such a way as to maintain services to in-patients across these facilities,” the administrator declared.

She said this exercise is being overseen by Infection Control Officer Yvonne Martindale, who reports directly to Head of the Infections Disease Unit Dr.  Corey Forde.

“We assure the public that all steps taken will be in compliance with best practices for kitchen operations,” she added.

Bynoe-Sutherland sought to assure residents in Barbados that the hospital’s mission is to ensure that it continues to provide quality health care while safeguarding the wellbeing of staff and patients.

“However, with community spread, this is the new reality many workplaces across Barbados are facing, but as the island’s lone public tertiary healthcare hospital, the QEH cannot close its doors,” she told Barbados TODAY. 
(emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb)