QEH makes access changes after hurricane damage

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has had to make changes to how the public must access the hospital owing to damage from Hurricane Elsa, the QEH’s Security Consultant Phillip Lewis said Monday.

A fallen tree has destroyed the hospital’s back gate making it inaccessible to traffic, leading to management implementing changes to the way vehicles and pedestrians enter and leave the hospital, he told Barbados TODAY.

Lewis said vehicles entering the hospital from Martindales Road are being redirected to enter through the new Accident & Emergency extension and park at the rear.

“Until this is fixed then that would continue into the foreseeable future, but hopefully it wouldn’t be that long,” said Lewis. “The exception would be if the hospital is taking big container trucks, obviously they can’t manoeuvre the narrow path, so we would, in this case, allow the barriers to be moved to allow them access, but that would be once in a while.”

A small gate at the southwestern corner of the hospital once used to connect nurses from the Tercentenary School of Nursing across River Road but long since closed has been reopened for pedestrian access.

Lewis said this is to prevent elderly people and those who are physically challenged from having to walk around to Martindales Road to enter the hospital.

Executive Chairman of the QEH Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland thanked the roving team from the Barbados Defence Force for helping to remove a fallen 100-year-old tree that damaged the back gate, a wall, security hut and a parked vehicle.

Bynoe-Sutherland said: “Pretty soon after it occurred they were flagged by our security and they immediately set about assisting us. They would have started on Friday by cutting some of the limbs that were protruding onto the Constitution Road, and they came back with all of the necessary equipment from the BDF and the Ministry of Transport and Works to start chopping the tree down and cutting it in pieces.

“We also recognize that that gate is an important exit and entry for mainly staff and patients who are accessing the facility. Mainly people have to bear the tremendous sun on that walk from the bus stand or parts of town up to the hospital and we thought it would be most unreasonable to make that further trek to obtain entrance through the front of the hospital.

“So we cleaned up and opened up the gate that leads on to River Road and we now have a temporary security station where the staff and public can access the hospital through a small gate that leads on to River Road and this would help tremendously in avoiding people having to walk so far to access the hospital.”

Bynoe-Sutherland gave an assurance that the hospital will be doing its best to repair the gate as soon as possible, but in the meantime will ensure that the hospital remains secure. (AH)