Staff Nurse Gregory Payne receives his certificate from Health Minister John Boyce. (C.Pitt/BGIS)
One hundred and ten staff members of the Psychiatric Hospital have benefited from workplace safety and emergency preparedness training under the Human Resource Development Strategy initiative.
Health Minister John Boyce, speaking at a ceremony to present the graduates with their certificates last Monday, stated that through the initiative, the hospital was granted $35,000 to support training. He noted that nursing staff, as well as general staff members, took advantage of the training in basic life support, basic tactical defence, and restraint and heart saver first aid.
A total of 84 nurses were trained in basic life support and basic tactical defence and restraint, and 26 general staff members received training in heart savers first aid. The training in basic tactical defence and restraint is ongoing and when completed, 133 nurses will benefit.
The Health Minister also spoke of plans to develop and improve child and adolescent services at the hospital with a new child and adolescent unit scheduled to come on stream, a project being undertaken and funded by the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust.
Mr. Boyce also made reference to a newspaper report in which the Trust complained about the bureaucracy it was encountering in getting some of its projects off the ground, and promised to do what he could to remove some of the stumbling blocks so that this project could move ahead smoothly.