Insurance company donates equipment to QEH laundry

Co-operators General Insurance has once again stepped up to the plate to assist the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), this time donating just over $30,000 worth of equipment to the hospital’s Laundry and Linen Department.

During an official handing over ceremony on Thursday, General Manager Anton Lovell said the insurance company was constantly looking at ways to help the hospital improve its daily operations, and the Laundry and Linen Department was selected because it needed to replace aging equipment.

“We had approached the office of the executive chairman and asked that they identify areas where assistance is needed. The Laundry Department was identified and items of equipment were purchased . . . . We were indeed happy to help and do hope that the equipment installed will make the laundry staff’s work easier and allow for increased productivity,” he said.

Chief Operations Officer at the hospital, Dr Christine Greenidge, thanked the insurance company for the generous donation, saying the contribution will go a long way in helping the department improve laundry services provided to patients.

“Currently, our department of laundry and linen is going through a resizing in terms of the par stocks of linen on our wards. That’s because we want to make sure the numbers of linen being distributed on a daily basis is meeting the demands . . . [in terms of patients] being comfortable but also in being protected in terms of their privacy and dignity,” she said.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness with responsibility for the QEH and Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases, Dr Sonia Browne, also thanked Co-operators General Insurance and called on other private sector companies to follow their lead, given the variety of services the hospital offers to citizens.

“This is part of the patient experience. It is one thing to leave home, your own surroundings, with your own bed and your own linen, to come into what we consider a strange place for treatment. You are ill, you are vulnerable, and this is one of the initiatives that will go a long way.

“I would love to see other private sector industries and corporations also follow suit. There are many areas that we need help in, outside of the normal medical equipment,” Dr Browne said. (SB)