(Stock Image)

From today, Friday, January 8, until further notice, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s (QEH) Antenatal and Haematology Clinics will operate from the “QEH-Belleville compound”, located at 6th Avenue, Belleville, St. Michael, in the building which was formerly the Pine Dental Clinic.

And Executive Chairman of the hospital, Juliette Bynoe-Sutherland, has asked patients who have appointments with these clinics to note the new location.

Mrs. Bynoe-Sutherland made the announcement during a press conference yesterday, as she outlined the QEH’s COVID-19 Response Strategy and Second Wave Plan.     

Noting the relocation fell under the patient safety component of the plan, she explained it would allow for the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department to better meet the needs of the public. 

“On the last occasion, we would’ve been able to move these clinics within the hospital, but as all of you are aware, the pressures on beds do not allow us the opportunity to [do so] because we really need to maintain the number of beds, so we do not have the delays in A&E because of inadequate bed complement,” Mrs. Bynoe-Sutherland said, adding that Belleville could be home of the clinics for the next three to six months.

She added that an ambulance was on standby to transport persons from the Belleville site to the hospital at Martindale’s Road, in the event of an emergency.

The Executive Chairman also noted that the Blackman-Gollop Primary School, which had been utilised as an isolation facility last year, was already set up with an additional 116 beds, and could be expanded if the situation warranted.

Additional measures to safeguard patients at the hospital include: the introduction of an internal contact tracing team, as well as a staff and patient monitoring and tracking reporting system. An audio-visual system has also been installed in the Accident and Emergency Department to allow for better communication with patients.

Mrs. Bynoe-Sutherland also pointed out that a number of measures implemented in Phase One of their plan, which was implemented last year, remain in place. These include the requirement for all patients (public and private) undergoing surgery to be pre-screened.

nya.phillips@barbados.gov.bb

Pin It on Pinterest