Queen Elizabeth Hospital advances digital overhaul and major capital works

A sweeping digital overhaul, multimillion-dollar equipment upgrades and a major off-site expansion are now under way at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), as administrators push to modernise Barbados’ primary public general hospital while addressing persistent service challenges.

Appearing on the QEH Pulse radio programme, Chief Executive Officer Neil Clark emphasised that the hospital’s 2025-2028 strategy was never intended to be a passive document. Following a recent public town hall session, hospital leadership returned to the airwaves to report on year-one successes and layout immediate priorities for the financial year that began in April.

​”Nobody wants to write a strategy that sits on the shelf, and that was never our intention,” Clark said. “We spent a good year working on year-one of that strategy, and it was right that we went back to the public and said, here’s the progress that we’re making.”

​​Among the most significant achievements of the plan’s opening year was the commissioning of the hospital’s new linear accelerator. The advanced oncology equipment has already delivered 1 500 treatments to Barbadian patients, with more than 100 individuals completely finalising their care regimens.

The technology has drastically cut down waiting times for initial outpatient cancer consultations, allowing Barbadians to receive critical medical care locally.

​”It helps patients begin their treatment sooner, have that treatment closer to home, surrounded by their loved ones,” the CEO explained. “And at the same time, saving money for the taxpayers of Barbados, by not having to send the patients abroad for treatment.”

​Simultaneously, a massive overhaul of the hospital’s data environment is underway via a new Health Information System (HIS). Teams on the ground have already scanned and digitised more than four million pages of medical records, completely transitioning 75 000 patient files into digital formats. Plans are also active to digitise the manual human resources records of nearly 3 000 staff members, alongside procurement and financial workflows.

​”Digital transformation isn’t about digital, it’s about how we improve the healthcare system as a whole,” Clark said, adding that the goal is immediate, real-time clinical data access at the point of care.

The QEH is backed by a $130m capital expenditure fund dedicated to replacing aging medical instruments. According to the CEO, nearly 2 000 equipment items are currently moving through procurement pipelines, with $50m already spent to systematically upgrade the hospital.

The hospital has also boosted its workforce by successfully filling the vast majority of 295 newly allocated institutional posts.

​The sweeping modernisation extends beyond the existing hospital walls. Construction has actively begun on the massive $400m Enmore development across the street from the main hospital, alongside the creation of the new Queen Elizabeth Rehabilitation Centre and an eco-friendly green waste management incinerator system.

But executing multiple capital projects simultaneously has forced several departments to relocate, causing logistical challenges for both staff and the public. For instance, the phlebotomy department has been moved from the Enmore site to the hospital annex at the corner of 6th Avenue Belleville and Pine Road.

​Hospital management acknowledged that public communication remains an ongoing battle during these transitions. During the broadcast, callers raised concerns regarding sudden outpatient clinic cancellations and the financial strain of traveling to the hospital only to be sent home.

​Addressing a complaint from a wheelchair-dependent caller who spent taxi fare on a cancelled appointment without notice, Clark offered an apology and pledged that the incoming digital scheduling system would introduce automated mobile phone reminders and electronic rescheduling options to fix the breakdown.

​”That’s a great example of somebody who the service didn’t work for. She came in for no reason, spent the money on the taxi for no reason,” Clark acknowledged. “These are things with the help of the health information system and the availability of information, we should be able to address.”

​Long wait times within the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department also remain a primary target for year two. While acknowledging that patient volume and case complexity have risen, Clark expressed personal frustration that waiting times had not declined as rapidly as initially projected in year one.

But the CEO maintained that the foundational structural shifts necessary to accelerate patient flow are now firmly established.

​”A waiting time challenge is bigger than the A&E department, and it’s bigger than the QEH. It’s about the whole health system working together,” Clark said, identifying prevention, primary care support, timely diagnostics, and post-acute community services as the moving parts required to clear institutional bottlenecks.

​”I remain confident that the plans we’re putting in place and the dedication of the teams at QEH to improve those waiting times and improve the patient’s experience will happen and come to fruition. This year, we will drive again harder at those A&E waiting times and bring those down.”

​Members of the public seeking real-time updates regarding ongoing clinic relocations, service adjustments, and operational changes were advised to monitor the official hospital portal at qehconnect.com.

(RR)