Services at St Philip Polyclinic under strain

Operations at the St Philip Polyclinic have been significantly affected due to a staff shortage.

Persons who do not have appointments or are not deemed emergencies are being turned away from the clinic in Six Roads because there are not enough doctors to attend to patients.

One irate woman who was refused medical attention earlier this week told Barbados TODAY she was forced to spend money which she had not budgeted for at a nearby private practice.

When contacted, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Kenneth George offered an apology as he confirmed the disruption at the polyclinic to Barbados TODAY and said services would continue to be affected for the time being.

“We are working to rectify the situation but for now services will be impacted by a shortage of staff,” he said.

Dr George explained that only one doctor was at work at the Six Roads Polyclinic on Monday, which meant only patients with appointments could be accommodated.

“First, let me apologise to the lady in question who went to the polyclinic and didn’t receive the service. From time to time, the service at the polyclinics may be disrupted, particularly in a COVID environment.

“The St Philip Polyclinic has three doctors on staff. One doctor is out with COVID, one was on vacation leave, and there was only one doctor plus the medical officer on duty that day. We have had some challenges getting additional staff at short notice but we are going to look into the matter,” Dr George explained.

Asked whether there was an urgent need for more doctors and nurses on the island, the CMO replied: “We can only get more doctors if we have them. We have doctors that are usually placed on standby if there is an issue at any of the polyclinics but we just don’t have the complement of doctors to work at short notice that we would like.”

The woman who was turned away from the polyclinic on Monday, said she woke up in the morning experiencing flu-like symptoms and decided to go to the polyclinic.

She said she was shocked when she arrived just after 8 a.m. and was told by an employee that the polyclinic was not accepting walk-ins.

“When I got there the security guard came out and told me there is only one doctor working and that doctor was only seeing people with appointments and emergencies. There were actually people there begging to see the doctor but they were told they had to make an appointment to see the doctor,” recounted the Union, St Philip resident who opted not to give her name.

“It meant that I then had to go and pay to see a private doctor in Four Roads. I didn’t intend to spend that money but I felt bad so I didn’t have a choice,” she added.
randybennett@barbadostoday.bb