QEH urges only life threatening cases go to Accident and Emergency Department

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is today issuing another advisory as the Accident and Emergency Department continues to experience a surge in the number of patients presenting for treatment with various medical complaints.

Five days on from the most recent advisory the department still remains very busy. At 12 p.m.,  Thursday, December 28th, 2023, forty-seven (47) patients were waiting to be seen by our medical team. As a result, we continue to register extended wait times in the department, especially for non-critical patients.

Our Emergency Ambulance Service has also seen a significant increase in the volume of calls for medical assistance.

In light of this, we continue our appeal to the public, if you present to the AED at this time with medical conditions which are not deemed life-threatening or an emergency, you may experience a longer than desired wait for treatment.

However, life-threatening conditions, under AED’s Triage System will continue to be seen and treated immediately. These include patients who for example, have life, limb or sight-threatening complaints, gunshot wounds, heart attacks, active seizure activity or a patient who needs resuscitation.

If you are unsure about your medical complaint to determine if you need to present to the Accident and Emergency Department, please call our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS/Help Desk) at 536- 4800 using regular or WhatsApp calls from 9 a.m. to 12 midnight during this surge.

You also have the option of visiting the 24-hour Winston Scott Polyclinic at Jemmotts Lane, St. Michael for treatment or your private General Practitioner. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience, and we will continue to provide updates on the situation.