QEH ‘turning a new page’ for healthcare in major overhaul

Top Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) officials on Monday publicly admitted that service delivery at the public hospital needs a major overhaul and have promised to roll out a series of improvements over the next year.

At a Diamond Jubilee church service held at the hospital’s chapel on Monday, Minister of Health & Wellness The Most Honorable Dr Jerome Walcott acknowledged that several areas needed improvement as he declared the government’s commitment to providing quality healthcare at the island’s lone public general hospital.

“We can do better, that’s the reality. We can do better, and we absolutely have to do better,” he declared, adding that he did not enjoy hearing frequent criticisms of the hospital.

“I feel bad when I hear the criticisms; I don’t answer. I don’t get involved in it because I recognise that it’s par for the course. If it is a main tertiary institution, there will be criticisms from time to time; you won’t get it right every time.

“But I know for every case that spent a long time in A&E (Accident and Emergency Department), dozens more would have been seen, treated, admitted or discharged. For everyone whose operation is cancelled, there are over 100 who get the surgery that same week. And indeed, for those who go to the clinic and find their records are not available, I am sure hundreds are seen in the outpatients department.”

QEH Chief Executive Officer Neil Clark said the hospital would be implementing several programmes, including a major recruitment drive, aimed at upgrading service delivery.

He said: “Priority number one is staffing, having our staff able and ready to work. We are recruiting over 250 new staff. We have already received 82 Ghanaian nurses. Priority number two is going to be our health information system that will really change the way we can pass notes around the organisation, communicate better with doctors and with patients.”

Minister of Health & Wellness The Most Honorable Dr Jerome Walcott.

The third priority, Clark said, is investments. 

“The minister mentioned the $130 million capital equipment funds that will be coming to us but already, in addition to that, we’ve got the linear accelerator already moving across the water (being shipped) towards us,” the hospital CEO said. 

“We’ve got a CT scanner and the X-ray machine already going into the A&E Department, which will significantly improve waiting times in the A&E Department. And we’ve got work underway to fix the roof over the Lion’s Eye Care Centre and refurbish the theatres that will give us more capacity to do elective surgeries. Then there’s also the development project across the road, which will include a new clinical laboratory, oncology department and additional clinical and office spaces.”

Clark said that this was a major undertaking for the QEH, and he hoped that it would bring positive results.

“The next 18 months will be a very exciting time for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and I hope we’ll see a lot of positive changes from all that investment,” he said.

The hospital administrator took the opportunity to remind Barbadians to use the A&E department only for emergencies.

He said: “If your issue is not an emergency, there are other options. You could speak to a pharmacist. You could speak to a polyclinic. You could speak to a private clinic. You can go to an urgent care centre. 

“We’re not saying by any means don’t come to A&E, and if it’s an emergency of course, we will always triage and treat those patients first. What we’re saying is, if it’s not an emergency, just think about what other options are available to you.” (SZB)