Dr Corey Forde, the National Coordinator of Isolation Facilities for COVID-19 Management in Barbados, is hoping for some down time for staff at the main COVID-19 medical facility in St Lucy who has been fighting COVID for more than 18 months.
Forde, who has become a household name since the start of the pandemic, made his wish known as he and other staffers at Harrison Point, were feted by Joseph Steinbok, the project manager, who oversaw the redevelopment of the former American military base, into a modern medical facility. It was handed over to Government in April 2020.
The construction of Harrison Point was part of the national strategic plan to fight the pandemic as infections began spreading globally.
Dr Forde, who is the island’s lead infection control specialist, has been the point person for the care and management of COVID-19 patients in Barbados. He was also treated for his birthday which he celebrated on December 16.
“I would like to thank the Steinbok [Management] company for helping me to celebrate my birthday. It is a wonderful acknowledgement, and it was quite a surprise [on] my first day of holiday,” Dr Forde stated.
Outlining the infrastructural work and detailed planning required to turn the northern base into a modern medical facility as “tremendous,” Forde said that Barbadians should be proud of the facility which he hailed as “world-class”.
Pointing to the expansion of the medical centre earlier this year, Forde said: “It was done at a point when we as a country desperately needed it in place. With the advent of the Delta variant, the challenge was real and there was a great need for oxygen. Countries were running out of oxygen. It was a masterstroke that in quick time, we were able to set up that facility. And just after it was finished, we were admitting patients and had an almost full capacity.
According to the specialist: “Every single team member here appreciates the work that Steinbok and his team have done, as well as the Ministry of Health and the Board of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. What we have here far exceeds what you will see in the Caribbean, and I feel privileged to say that we have had visitors, crew off the cruise ships, who tell us how impressed they are with the facility, the infrastructure, the management, the care and the treatment they received.”
Following the Christmas celebrations, however, Dr Forde said his most important wish was for “the hard-working staff of Harrison Point to get a respite” from the near non-stop battle to save lives and return patients to good health.
“The staff has been working some very long hours and I am hoping that they will get a reprieve because it has been extremely difficult on them.”(PR)
