By KHRISNA VIRGIL
Tribune Staff Reporter
kvirgil@tribunemedia.net
EMPLOYEES at Princess Margaret Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit have expressed concern about “deteriorating” working conditions and appealed to the government to prioritise the opening of the Critical Care Block.
Speaking to The Tribune yesterday on the condition of anonymity, several health care professionals said daily operations have become more challenging because basic necessities to offer better care to patients are lacking.
“The place is deteriorating,” said a PMH employee who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal. “They don’t have all the medication there and the equipment is old. In particular medication to treat head injury patients has been lacking. How can you run a hospital without the medication and you know you have a lot of trauma patients?”
“When we are making demands for the things that we need administration doesn’t see the importance . . .”
When contacted for comment, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon Dr Duane Sands agreed that working in the ICU is less than ideal. In fact, Dr Sands said it was a disgrace that the Christie administration had yet to make the Critical Care Block fully operational. He said that if it were not for the efforts of consummate professionals in the ICU the scenario would be much worse.
The opening of the Critical Care Block has been plagued with numerous setbacks, including funding for equipment and staffing concerns. Construction on the 66,000 sq ft facility began in November 2011 and should have been turned over to the government last October.
Dr Sands took the government to task yesterday on the matter. He said since 2008 when the Critical Care Block was conceptualised, it was a known fact that bed shortages were an issue and more space was needed.
“The problems have worsened and I would have thought that the funding and opening of the block would be a real priority and much bigger than a lot of the things that are taking precedence,” Dr Sands said.
“The road leading from Shirley Street remains closed and the Critical Care Block still doesn’t have a date (to open). We can only speculate that it might open at the end of the year.”
Calls made to Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez about the concerns, were not returned. Both the Public Hospital’s Authority (PHA) Managing Director Herbert Brown and Acting Hospital Administrator Dorothy Hepburn said they were not aware of the situation and no concerns about the state of the ICU had been brought to their attention.
Ms Hepburn told The Tribune that she would look into the claims.
Comments
realfreethinker 9 years, 11 months ago
Late again
ThisIsOurs 9 years, 11 months ago
What kind of management is the PHA doing if they don't have ANY idea of what is going on at the largest hospital under their care? What could possibly be their purpose or Are they simply too busy moving wheelbarrows full of money to care? Don't look to PGC for assistance, he's probably working feverishly on his next self aggrandizement project, a coat of arms for the PM's office. This some mess eh?
John 9 years, 11 months ago
Do you think politics is behind this multi million facility just sitting there and catching dust? If it is so then it is a disgrace and even if it is not politics the building has been sitting there too long after being completed. Then there is a need to isolate the trauma patients form the regular emergency patients at accident and emergency. Persons going in with heart problems, stroke and pain are put back every time a shooting, stabbing or accident patient comes in. The older patients are treated like cattle where they are dumped on a stretcher and pushed in a corner to wait up to 12 hours before seeing a doctor and being treated. Weekend visits to A&E are even worse. The facility is overwhelmed because of our violent society but senior citizens should not have to pay a price.
TheMadHatter 9 years, 11 months ago
Ya'll talking 'bout this while we gat the 4x100 relays going on !?!?!??!?!?? What wrong with ya'll ? LOL
TheMadHatter
ThisIsOurs 9 years, 11 months ago
Never MadHatter!! NEVER, I was in the stands watching our boys do us proud!:) it was a totally wonderful weekend, minus the total absence of Junkanoo that is. Whoever was in charge of "showcasing Junkanoo to the world" should be put in a land far far and away from the planning for "carnival". (Come to think of it, they're probably the same person responsible for selecting that godawful festival name)
Stapedius 9 years, 11 months ago
@ThisisOurs You are spot on regarding the PHA. As a healthcare professional I get annoyed when I hear Dr. Sands go on like this. The PHA is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that these facilities run smoothly. I will admit they haven't been doing the best job of it. The fact is the ICU nor any other hospital department should get dragged into politics. The PMH ICU has lacked the necessary equipment. medication and staff for years. This didn't just happen overnight and it is disingenuous for my colleague to suggest that any one government is at fault. As far as I'm concerned both administrations knew and know full well the extent to which we lack supplies and staff throughout the entire hospital. Having the facility is one thing, having the proper trained staff is another. Just how many Critical care specialists do we have? Or are we just manning stations with SHOs, like we usually do? Furthermore, why is the Tribune contacting my colleague knowing full well he has a political bias on any matter regarding PMH and the fact that he is not head of the ICU? If you want comments call the ICU Chief. We need to get real in this place and stop playing games and politics with the lives of Bahamians.
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