QEH 50th Anniversary

24-PAGE FEATURENOVEMBER 23, 2014

2. SUNDAY SUN SPECIAL NOVEMBER 23, 2014

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Congratulations to The Queen Elizabeth Hospital on your 50th anniversary.

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Message from Dr Dexter James,

chief executive officer of the

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, on the

occasion of its 50th anniversary.

NOVEMBER 14, 1964, marked the official opening of our “rock of health” situate atMartindale’s Road.

In this 50th year of existence,we celebrate with thousands of patients and families who havetrusted their health, lives andfuture to the Queen Elizabeth

Hospital (QEH). Today, we provide a

comprehensive package of

services to the public of Barbados(and elsewhere) and with excellent outcomes.

This package covers mostdisease conditions from “the brain to the toe” – neurologyto footcare – with only a fewmedical conditions referredoverseas for further treatment.

During this year of celebrations,we wish to show immenseappreciation and thanks to theemployees, volunteers, boards of management, and our healthpartners, who have served thisinstitution with distinction andsupport.

Celebrating 50 years of

continuous service is an amazingaccomplishment for any business. The QEH is opened for service 24hours a day, 365 days a year.

This achievement means thatthe hospital has not closed itsdoors to the public in 50 years.

To sustain such a business as a going concern against thebackdrop of different politicaladministrations, with differentideologies, different governancearrangements, and many changesin health-care administrators is by no means a small feat.

In spite of our manyachievements, we face thechallenge of having to do more

with less. Innovation musttherefore be a key driver ofsustainability within this context of dwindling resources.

We must not fear the future but embrace it. In charting ourvision for the future, let us allrecommit to a legacy of qualitycare while preserving thephilosophy of Universal HealthCoverage – access to care by all.

May God continue to bless us and oversee the future of the QEH as we continue to devote and extend ourselves to this labour of love: saving livesand strive towards Getting

Better Together.

Message from Joseph King, Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, on

the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

HISTORY HAS SHOWN that this greatinstitution, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital,having reached the age of 50 years,remains a resolute, dependable, andcapable institution. An institution whichcontinues that line of success anddependability expected of the premier

health-care institution in the country.The Queen Elizabeth Hospital opened

in November 1964, and has achieved the distinction of being the only healthinstitution that provides the total package in health care, and because of its multiplicity of services may claim to have reached that pinnacle ofexcellence and delivery of services secondto none among the developing countries inthe world.

Its efforts to be recognised as a fullyaccredited hospital should soon beachieved. Its management and staff mustbe congratulated for their efforts and thehigh levels of professionalism, dedication and achievements reached.

The board of directors appreciatesthese attributes and offers its thanks to all staff past and present, whocontributed to this significantachievement. JOSEPH KING (RC)

DR DEXTER JAMES

THE QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL(QEH), situated at Martindale’s Road,St Michael, opened its doors onNovember 14, 1964, to address themedical, surgical, clinical andtreatment needs of Barbados andthe Caribbean and to serve as ateaching hospital for those seeking acareer in the medical profession.

It is Barbados’ primary acute caremedical facility and is an accreditedteaching hospital affiliated with theUniversity of the West Indies, CaveHill Campus.

Since its inception, the hospitalhas expanded its bed capacity from464 beds to the current 600 bedsand can perform mostsurgeries, andspecialised care in theareas of gynaecology,paediatrics, obstetrics,cardiac surgery,psychotherapy, radiology,radiography andophthalmology – amongothers.

The hub of the QEHcan be considered theAccident and EmergencyDepartment, formerlyknown as the QEH Casualty, which in1990 was transformed into the newAccident and EmergencyDepartment.

This department which waspioneered by Dr Irvine Brancker andDr Van Tyne, opened with a team ofinitially 12 junior doctors and twoconsultants. Today there are over 20doctors. As the busiest departmentin the QEH, doctors there attend toapproximately 45 000 patients each

year.Operational plans for the QEH

continue to focus on strengtheningthe delivery of quality health carewith strategic direction guided by the10-year plan for Health and the QEHCare Excellence Programme (CEP).

The hospital’s vision statement isto be an accredited healthcareinstitution by embracing a culture ofinnovation, technology advancementand continuous improvementthrough research training and

education. Its mission statement is tobe a high quality provider of safe,compassionate patient centred caredelivered by a team of well trainedand dedicated healthcare workers,while its motto is Irrupta tenetcopula, which means “An unbrokenchain unites us.”

Among the hospital’s goals are:To be a centre of excellence for

NOVEMBER 23, 2014 SUNDAY SUN SPECIAL. 3.

SINCE OPENING in 1964, theQueen Elizabeth Hospital hasexpanded its bed capacity from464 beds to the current 600 bedsand can perform most surgeries,and specialised care.

Continued on next page.

trained and dedicatedhealthcare workers, while itsmotto is Irrupta tenet copula,which means “An unbrokenchain unites us.”

Among the hospital’s goalsare:

To be a centre ofexcellence for thedelivery of secondaryand tertiary medical carefor Barbadians, visitorsand persons referredfrom the region.

To be a centre ofexcellence forundergraduate andpostgraduate teaching ofhealth care disciplinesfor Barbados and theregion.

To provide equality ofhealth care and respectfor the rights ofindividuals, irrespectiveof class, colour, creed,religion or sexualorientation.

To have a continuingevaluation of thecontinuing evaluation ofthe cost-effectiveness ofall aspects of health caredelivery, to reducewastage and enhanceperformance.

To develop acomplement of highly

motivated employees,dedicated to theprinciple that the patientcomes first in alldeliberations andactivities.

To provide, developand maintain a workingenvironment which isclean, healthy andconducive to teambuilding.

To commit to theupliftment of healthservices in thecommunity through thetraining of the training ofpersonnel, the provision

of services and thepromotion of positiveinteraction betweenhealth care workers inthe community and thehospital.

To make the best useof modern informationtechnology to enhanceand sustain theoperations of thehospital.

To provide access to allavailable services andtimely vide access to allavailable services andtimely response toreferring practitioners

To harness newdevelopments asrequired in accordancewith the strategicdirection of the hospital.

To establish andmaintain standardswhich are internationallyacceptable.

To foster communitylinkages in the overalldevelopment of thehospital.

To empower allemployees in thedecision-making process.

To provide all servicesin a timely manner.


From Page 3.

THE DEPARTMENT OF PAEDIATRICS continues to provide optimal quality care forpatients of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. (RC)

THE QUEENELIZABETHHOSPITAL (QEH)offers the followingsurgical services:

Anaesthesia andSurgical IntensiveCare Unit (SICU)

CardiovascularServices

OphthalmologyOrthopaedicsOtolaryngology

(ENT)Surgery – General,

urology, plasticsurgery andneurosurgery

Women and childrenChildren –

Paediatrics,Perinatal IntensiveCare Unit (PICU) andNeonatal IntensiveCare Unit (NICU)

Women –Obstetrics and gynaecology

Medicine and A&E Medicine –

Neurology,Gastrointestinal Unit,

Respiratory Unit,EEG/EMG Unit,dialysis, generalmedicine, MedicalIntensive Care Unit(MICU)

EmergencyServices – Accidentand Emergency,EmergencyAmbulance Service

Rehabilitation –Occupationaltherapy,physiotherapy,prosthetics andorthotetics

Psychiatry

DiagnosticServices –

Laboratory –Clinical chemistry,anatomicalpathology, BloodCollection Unit, labadministration,haematology,microbiology andsociology, bloodbank, cytology

RadiologyRadiotherapyPharmacy


THE CARDIAC CARE UNIT at the QueenElizabeth Hospital (QEH) has beeninstrumental in helping to manage and treatheart disease which is the No.1 one killer inBarbados. In 2013, this unit conducted 10000 electrocardiograms and 2 000echocardiograms.

These tests which the unit offers areinstrumental in the diagnosis and treatmentof cardiovascular disease. In addition, thefollowing tests are available for adult andpaediatric patients:

Ambulatory holter monitoringEchocardiographyExercise stress testingStress echocardiography (exercise

and pharmacological)Tilt table testingElectrocardiography

The range of services now being offeredby the Cardiac Unit are what Professor SirTrevor Hassell envisioned when he firstlaunched it back in 1971. Along with thecardiological services, it was Sir Trevor’sgoal to provide a cardiac clinic for patientswith heart disease.

In the mid 1980s, the Heart Foundationof Barbados commissioned a report on thefeasibility of providing open-heart surgery at the QEH. Prior to that, patients whoneeded heart surgery had to travel overseasto get it done. However, the report written by Professor Mickey Walrond led to theplanning and development of cardiaccatheterisation services and the selectionand training of the team for the CardiacDepartment.

Sir Trevor has seen phenomenal growth

because of the continued training anddevelopment of the team in the CardiacDepartment. Some of that training wasprovided by North Shore University Hospitalin Long Island, New York, which is an affiliate of Cornell University.Stephanie Bryan, a nurse, was among thecardiac team that received training in perfusion technology there.

That training by cardiac personnel led to the formation of the Department ofInvasive Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery in1994, with a team that included Dr RichardIshmael, Dr J. Massey, Dr Michael Fakoory,and Anthony Harris.

In May of 1994, the first cardiac surgerywas performed in Barbados.

Along with cardiac surgery, the teamalso provides thoracic surgery, vascular

surgery, pacemaker implantation,pacemaker implantable cardiacdefibrillators, and advanced cardiologicaldiagnostic tests. The team has performedmore than 1 000 open heart cases over thelast 20 years.

Earlier this year, members of the teamwere on hand for the opening of the newstate-of-the-art cardiac suite located in theLions Eye Care Centre.

The development and completion of thatnew cardiac suite came about after a paperwritten by Harris and Professor Hassell in2001, about the advancement of cardiacservices in Barbados, attracted fundingfrom the European Union through theEuropean Development Fund. The newCardiac Suite, which also features its ownoperating theatre, is the result of this paper.


[email protected]

STEPHANIE BRYAN can remember a timenot that long ago when the Queen

Elizabeth Hospital couldn’t performcardiac surgery. All heart patients thatneeded open-heart surgery had to go overseas. “We started open-heart surgery in 1994, and the open-heart surgery

team was a home-grown team if you cancall it that,” said Bryan, seniorperfusionist in the Cardiac Unit. "Wetrained everybody overseas and thenthey came back to the QEH to work. Mr

• Continued on next page.

STEPHANIE BRYAN is ready to take propercare of her patients. (RC)


Harris was the first to gooff to train. We had a planand we worked towards it.” That plan workedbecause for the past 20years, cardiac surgery andperfusion technology havebeen performed at theQEH. The first open-heartsurgery was done in 1994,and since then they’vebeen doing 50-60 cases ofopen-heart surgery a year.Perfusion is the injectionof fluid into a blood vesselto reach an organ, usuallythe heart. Bryan, who is a nurse, was sentoverseas to train inperfusion technology andis one of two perfusionistsat the hospital. Patients at the QEH

aren’t the only ones to benefit from thespecialised skills of thecardiac team. According to Bryan, they’ve also donesurgery on patients inTrinidad, Guyana, Antigua,St Lucia, and othercountries in the region. Bryan who has been atthe QEH since 1974, canpersonally attest to thegrowth and development of the Cardiac Unit, whichnow has its own state-of-the-art suite at thehospital. She regularlyassists the two surgeonsAnthony Harris and Dr AlanSmith in cardiac surgery. “Even though we’vestarted doing somecardiac surgeries off pumpor not using the bypassmachine, I still have to bethere in case somethinghappens and we have touse one of the machines,"she said. Bryan and those involvedin cardiac care are happythat the cardiac suite is there and hopes thatthey will be able to fullymove into the unit soon. “The suite is partiallyopened and we do thecardiac catherisationsthere. There is a cardiaccatherisations lab as wellas a cardiac operatingroom,” Bryan said. “If weget our own suite whichincludes the catherisationslab, the operating theatre,the recovery room, thestep down unit, we wouldhave everything in oneplace.” Bryan is hoping that thecardiac suite will soon be fully opened. Shehopes that with that suite,they can continue to improve on themanagement of patients.

“I just want to seecardiac care at the QEH

maintain its momentumand the high standardscontinue,” Bryan said.“What I would like to seeis more staff in the cardiacarea because we don’thave enough.”

STEPHANIE BRYAN (RC)

• From Page 6.


Happy 50th Anniversaryto the Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Manor Lodge Complex, Lodge Hill, St. Michael

Tel: (246) 421-6946Fax: (246) 421-6907

E-mail: [email protected]

CONGRATULATIONS& heartfelt thanks!

The Management and Staff of

Exclusive Lighting & Electrical

Supplies Ltd are proud to join with fellow Barbadians in recognizing the love and care that the QEH has provided us and our loved-ones for the past 50 years.

DR ANNE-MARIE HASSELL, head of the MICU. (FP)

THE QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL now boastsa state-of-the-art medical intensive care unit(MICU) thanks to the generous donations of theWorld Bank, Broadway to Barbados CharitableTrust, and Rotary Barbados.

The 11-bed unit which was officially openedin July features the latest medical equipment,monitors, computerised beds that help to adequately treat and manage patients. Whilethe plans for expansion started back in 2006when the MICU was only a six-bed unit andcatered primarily for cardiac care, the modernand well designed facility can accommodate a wide range of patient needs.

“We are getting our doctors to the pointwhere they are practising medicine on par withthe United States, and we have the equipmentwe need to make quick decisions,” saidintensive care physician and head of the MICU and the QEH’s Department of Medicine,Dr Anne-Marie Hassell.

“I brought doctors in from overseas to trainthem on the machines which proved to be a cheaper alternative than going overseasto do a course which is US$6 000 a personand there are three parts to the course.

“The doctors will come in again next year to do the second level of training so that all of my junior staff will be trained up to a certain level using the machines.

“They will be able to do invasive proceduressafely on patients, they’ll be able to assesscardiac function and certain radiology things so that we don’t have to wait and depend

on other services. ”Hassell, who has worked in the MICU since

returning to Barbados back in 1999,is extremely pleased with the growth of the unitsince the early days.

Upon her arrival, the MICU, which wasoriginally opened in 1976 by the late Dr RichieHaynes, was only a six-bed unit. But thedemand for care in the unit was always greatand very often they ended up having too manypatients but not enough space to treat them.

Back then, Hassell was the only intensiviston staff and now she has two other intensivecare doctors, one like herself that was trainedin the United States.

“In the States, you have to recertify every tenyears, so you have to keep up with what’s goingon and that has helped us bring the standardup constantly,” Hassell said.

“As soon as something new comes up andwe feel that we can afford to get the equipment,we do the training and then we get our doctorstrained. So we’re keeping the level of expertiseup to par. We may not be able to do everythingthat they do overseas but we can give a significant level of care here.”

According to Hassell none of the newequipment in the MICU would be possiblewithout the help of the Broadway to BarbadosCharitable Trust and the World Bank.

“The World Bank had funds for HIV/AIDS andwe take care of a lot of HIV patients in the



• From Page 8.

MICU and I approached them to getfunding and they bought a lot of theequipment you see in here,” Hassellsaid. “Broadway to Barbados CharitableTrust also gave us.

“The World Bank gave us about$800 000 worth of equipment and Broadway to Barbados is surpassing that. Rotary’s contributionwas in terms of the outfitting of theunit, and the architect Marissa Huckwas amazing in her design of the facility.”

Hassell also added that theBroadway to Barbados Charitable Trusthas also provided a special fund for themaintenance of the equipment to ensure that the machinery is alwaysin good condition.

“The trust understands howimportant the equipment is to theMICU, but also how important it is tomaintain the equipment,” Hassell said.

“They’re not just giving, but they’regiving with the understanding thatthey’re holding back for maintenancewhich I thought showed phenomenal foresight.”

CARDIAC SUITE NURSES Vanda Lashley and Lisa Herbert. (RC)


FOR YEARS the Lions Eye Care Centre sat vacant notrealising its true potential. Today, the newly renovatedstate-of-the-art facility is bustling with patients, whoregularly see the 12 consultants

“We always had a dream that we could have this unitor department as good as any in the first world. All thoseplaces are good because they have subspecialties so anybody with any problem can be seen.

“We developed a plan to have subspecialists servicesoffered right here,” said Dr David Callender, head of theLions Eye Care Centre. “Between then and now, we haveevery major subspecialty that you can find in any firstworld hospital.

“We have general ophthalmologists, paediatricophthalmologists, we have vitriol retinal specialists, vitriol retinal surgeon, glaucoma specialist, an ocularplastic surgeon, a neuro-ophthalmologist Dr Gopwani, she just trained and came back, that bridges the gapbetween opthamology and neurology, then we have a cornea specialist.

“In addition to that, we have a constant influx of youngdoctors who want to be trained in ophthalmology.”

Seeing the facility now as opposed to when Callenderjoined the eye care centre in 1988, is testament to the

growth that has occurred over the years. Back then therewere four consultants, three general opthalmologists anda retinal specialist.

As technological advances in eye care developed anddoctors were trained in the various subspecialties,it meant that more patients in Barbados had moresurgical options for their eye care.

“Most of our surgery now is day case surgery where

THE LIONS EYE CARE CENTRE is a full servicefacility offering services from paediatric to ocularplastic surgery. Here, Dr David Callender, head of the centre, prepares to examine the eyes of a child. (RC)



• From Page 10.

patients come and go home the same day. When I first started, patients would spend days in thehospital. Now we do very small incision surgerywhere you don’t even need to stitch the wound,”Callender explained.

“Even the surgery on the back of the eye is a small incision where patients go in and out.There is no bed stay unless there is a problem.

“The healing process is relatively quick becausethe incisions are small and there are good drugs on the market that aid healing so the results have been pretty good so far.”

The only drawback that the consultants in the eye centre face is that the top floor is stillunfinished because of budgetary constraints. Thathas impacted on the number of surgeries that canbe performed each week.

“We have three operating theatres on that topfloor which were used before. But then we had tomove out in 2003 for air-conditioning reasons. Wehave one operating theatre in the old theatre suiteso we have to share theatre time.

There are only ten sessions a week, so eachperson has a half-day session once a week,”Callender said. “So we have a half day theatre listwhich means you really can’t do as much surgeryper team as you would like to because you don’thave enough time. That means there is a waitinglist for surgery at the moment because the funds to complete the top floor aren’t really there.”

Callender is confident that when the top floor of the Lions Eye Care Centre is completed and theoperating theatres are fully operational, they’ll beable to double their surgical output.

Another issue that impacts on the consultants’ability to do surgery is that with monies being owedto some suppliers, they may not get the suppliesthey need in a timely manner to deal with public patients.

With limited or no supplies, it means that some surgeries for the public patients have to be dropped.

“We have tried innovative ways to deal with that.Some doctors bring the supplies for the patients tohave surgery; some public patients are willing to payfor the supplies they need to get the operation,”Callender said. “It’s a free surgery but if you don’thave the supplies, we can’t do it. If they’re willing to buy the supplies, then they can have theoperation and some patients are willing to do that.”

Despite the ongoing challenges, Callender ishappy with the growth that he has seen in thedepartment over the years. According to him thecare being offered now is on par with any eye carecentre in the first world. It is his desire to continueto build on that.

“I’ve been toying around with the idea of havingthe Eye Department as a formal training institutionfor subspecialists,” he said. Unlike in the pastwhere doctors who wanted to specialise would go overseas for training.

“I think there is enough expertise within thedepartment to train them so that would eliminatethe need to go anywhere.”

THE LIONS EYE CARECENTRE can hold itsown against any otherfacility in the firstworld. (RC)

THE EMERGENCYAMBULANCE SERVICE(EASresponds toapproximately 15 000 callsper year, an average of 1250 calls per month or 45calls per day.

This figure isconsiderably high, whenone considers that theQueen Elizabeth Hospital

(QEH) has a fleet of justnine ambulances and oneresponse vehicle.

According to head of theEmergency AmbulanceService, medical

consultant, Dr David Byer, the QEH hasrecognised the need for afleet of ten to 12ambulances with six toeight ambulances inoperation at any one timeto allow for adequaterotation and preventativemaintenance.

Byer disclosed thatDecember, January, theCrop Over season, and thesummer months wereconsidered peak seasonsfor ambulance usage.However, he said this

varied, depending, ofcourse, on mass casualtyincidences or diseaseoutbreaks of any type.

Byer, who began histenure at the QEH as ajunior doctor in 1995, hasheaded the EmergencyAmbulance Service since2006. A specialist inemergency medicine andpre-hospital care, he isresponsible for all pre-hospital care as well as thetraining of all paramedicsand emergency medicaltechnicians (EMTs).

The task of developingmedical protocols for EMTsand paramedics also fallssquarely on his shouldersas well as managing masscasualty incidences, bothfrom a planning andresponse perspective. Byeris also intrinsically involvedin planning for mass eventssuch as Crop Over.

According to him,management has workedfeverishly over the pastdecade to provideadvanced training forambulance personnelthereby improving the level of services offered by theEmergency AmbulanceService.

“We provide advancedtraining at a paramediclevel to EMTs and this hasincreased the level ofmedical interventions thatboth the EMT andparamedic provide.

“For instance, we haveintroduced them to thesetting up of drips andhave empowered them towork with patients whosuffer from asthma. Inother words, we have

empowered them to domore, so that we have abetter clinical outcome.Health care starts beforehospital care so they bothcomplement each other.

“In addition, we haveprovided lots of training formass casualties, casesinvolving extrication [wherepatients must be removedfrom vehicles], training onhow to deal with hazardousmaterials and training inobstetrics.”

According to Byer, theEmergency AmbulanceService in collaborationwith the Ministry of Health“is currently working ondeveloping legislation whichwill govern the standards ofboth private and publicambulance services.

“This legislation is aboutto be drafted, documentshave been vetted and it willsoon be dealt with at theparliamentary level.

The EmergencyAmbulance Serviceemploys a team of 60paramedics and EMTs whowork on a four-shift basis,with 15 on any one shift.

12. SUNDAY SUN SPECIAL. NOVEMBER 23, 2014 NOVEMBER 23, 2014. SUNDAY SUN SPECIAL. 13.

THE ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY(A&E) DEPARTMENT remainscommitted to the provision of quality,timely emergency care, to acutely sickand injured people – both citizens andvisitors alike.

Formerly known as QEH Casualty,the department was transformed in1990 into the new A&E Department.

The department was pioneered byDr Irvine Brancker and Dr Van Tyne,who set up the new department,transforming the former QEH Casualtywhich was basically a clinic treatingpatients with both major and minorcases, into a dedicated A&EDepartment handling urgent

cases only.It opened with a team of initially

12 junior doctors and two consultants.As the busiest department in the

hospital, the staff attend to more than 40 000 patients each year.

Offering patient care on par with

some first world countries.In its early days of operation, the

A&E Department saw about 60 000patients a year, but the advent of newprivate emergency medical facilitiessaw that number reduced to between40 000 and 45 000 a year.

NOVEMBER has been a special month for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital family. For the now 50-year-old institution thismonth celebrated five decades of providing health care services to the nation.

On Friday, November 14, the QEH familycelebrated with the first baby born at theinstitution when they hosted Rhonda Taylorat a special anniversary function.

Last Wednedsay, it was time tocelebrate its own as long-serving staff andassociates were honoured for their yearsof dedicated service to the institution,some being honoured for serviceexceeding 45 years.

A SECTION OF THE Emergency Ambulance team. (RC)

DR DAVID BYER, headof the EAS department

AMBULANCE DESPATCH DEPARTMENT: ObenaDuncan and Wayne Garnes

PROFESSOR MARGARET ANNE ST JOHN is all smiles while receiving

her award from Anthony Harris for giving 40 years of service to the

Queen Elizabeth Hospital. (RC)

FOR HIS 37 years of service to the Queen Elizabeth

Hospital, Thani Haresh (left) receives award from Anthony

Harris. (RC)

CAPTURING THE MOMENT FOR POSTERITY. Queen Elizabeth Hospital long-serving staff members posing with their awards after the prize-giving ceremony. (RC)

THE EMERGENCYAMBULANCE SERVICE(EASresponds toapproximately 15 000 callsper year, an average of 1250 calls per month or 45calls per day.

This figure isconsiderably high, whenone considers that theQueen Elizabeth Hospital

(QEH) has a fleet of justnine ambulances and oneresponse vehicle.

According to head of theEmergency AmbulanceService, medical

consultant, Dr David Byer, the QEH hasrecognised the need for afleet of ten to 12ambulances with six toeight ambulances inoperation at any one timeto allow for adequaterotation and preventativemaintenance.

Byer disclosed thatDecember, January, theCrop Over season, and thesummer months wereconsidered peak seasonsfor ambulance usage.However, he said this

varied, depending, ofcourse, on mass casualtyincidences or diseaseoutbreaks of any type.

Byer, who began histenure at the QEH as ajunior doctor in 1995, hasheaded the EmergencyAmbulance Service since2006. A specialist inemergency medicine andpre-hospital care, he isresponsible for all pre-hospital care as well as thetraining of all paramedicsand emergency medicaltechnicians (EMTs).

The task of developingmedical protocols for EMTsand paramedics also fallssquarely on his shouldersas well as managing masscasualty incidences, bothfrom a planning andresponse perspective. Byeris also intrinsically involvedin planning for mass eventssuch as Crop Over.

According to him,management has workedfeverishly over the pastdecade to provideadvanced training forambulance personnelthereby improving the level of services offered by theEmergency AmbulanceService.

“We provide advancedtraining at a paramediclevel to EMTs and this hasincreased the level ofmedical interventions thatboth the EMT andparamedic provide.

“For instance, we haveintroduced them to thesetting up of drips andhave empowered them towork with patients whosuffer from asthma. Inother words, we have

empowered them to domore, so that we have abetter clinical outcome.Health care starts beforehospital care so they bothcomplement each other.

“In addition, we haveprovided lots of training formass casualties, casesinvolving extrication [wherepatients must be removedfrom vehicles], training onhow to deal with hazardousmaterials and training inobstetrics.”

According to Byer, theEmergency AmbulanceService in collaborationwith the Ministry of Health“is currently working ondeveloping legislation whichwill govern the standards ofboth private and publicambulance services.

“This legislation is aboutto be drafted, documentshave been vetted and it willsoon be dealt with at theparliamentary level.

The EmergencyAmbulance Serviceemploys a team of 60paramedics and EMTs whowork on a four-shift basis,with 15 on any one shift.

12. SUNDAY SUN SPECIAL. NOVEMBER 23, 2014 NOVEMBER 23, 2014. SUNDAY SUN SPECIAL. 13.

THE ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY(A&E) DEPARTMENT remainscommitted to the provision of quality,timely emergency care, to acutely sickand injured people – both citizens andvisitors alike.

Formerly known as QEH Casualty,the department was transformed in1990 into the new A&E Department.

The department was pioneered byDr Irvine Brancker and Dr Van Tyne,who set up the new department,transforming the former QEH Casualtywhich was basically a clinic treatingpatients with both major and minorcases, into a dedicated A&EDepartment handling urgent

cases only.It opened with a team of initially

12 junior doctors and two consultants.As the busiest department in the

hospital, the staff attend to more than 40 000 patients each year.

Offering patient care on par with

some first world countries.In its early days of operation, the

A&E Department saw about 60 000patients a year, but the advent of newprivate emergency medical facilitiessaw that number reduced to between40 000 and 45 000 a year.

NOVEMBER has been a special month for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital family. For the now 50-year-old institution thismonth celebrated five decades of providing health care services to the nation.

On Friday, November 14, the QEH familycelebrated with the first baby born at theinstitution when they hosted Rhonda Taylorat a special anniversary function.

Last Wednedsay, it was time tocelebrate its own as long-serving staff andassociates were honoured for their yearsof dedicated service to the institution,some being honoured for serviceexceeding 45 years.

A SECTION OF THE Emergency Ambulance team. (RC)

DR DAVID BYER, headof the EAS department

AMBULANCE DESPATCH DEPARTMENT: ObenaDuncan and Wayne Garnes

PROFESSOR MARGARET ANNE ST JOHN is all smiles while receiving

her award from Anthony Harris for giving 40 years of service to the

Queen Elizabeth Hospital. (RC)

FOR HIS 37 years of service to the Queen Elizabeth

Hospital, Thani Haresh (left) receives award from Anthony

Harris. (RC)

CAPTURING THE MOMENT FOR POSTERITY. Queen Elizabeth Hospital long-serving staff members posing with their awards after the prize-giving ceremony. (RC)

MAKING A DIFFERENCE throughnutrition.

That’s the mantra thatregistered dieticians Sheila Fordeand Meshell Carrington haveimplemented to get patients at theQueen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) on the road to good health andnutrition by leading the Food & Nutrition Department at theMartindale’s Road, St Michaelinstitution.

Diet and nutrition are crucial inthe prevention and treatment ofdisease. As dieticians working inthe hospital setting their primaryrole is to assess, diagnose, treat,evaluate and monitor nutrition-related conditions to maintainhealth and manage disease.

The dieticians, who have allbeen trained overseas and aremembers of professionalorganisations in those countriesand locally, are working hard tochange the eating patterns ofpatients who pass through theQEH to get them on the road tohealthier lifestyles. Acknowledgingthat Barbadian diets have a highfat and added sugar content aswell as large portion sizes, they’vebeen working with patients in andoutside the hospital to makepositive nutrition changes.

The department provides two services to the Barbadianpopulation, a food service and a clinical nutrition service.

The food service sectionprovides meals for all inpatients.On average it provides 25 000

meals a month. Managing a staffof 85 people along with approvingthe menus – regular and modifieddiets for those suffering fromdifferent ailments, Forde, afterreturning to QEH in 2001, hasworked to make food servicesmore efficient despite facingbudgetary cutbacks.

“There is a menu that we follow— a four-week cycle menu which is planned according to theavailability of food,” Forde said.

“That’s something that we haveto be cognisant about in thiscurrent economic time that we’regoing through. Fortunately, we dohave an assistant procurementofficer and the director of financewho work very closely with us,trying their best to get things donein such a manner that you wouldscarcely notice the financialproblems that we might be

experiencing.”In the clinical services the

team of three registered dieticiansoffer medical nutrition therapy toinpatients and provide nutritioncounselling and education on anoutpatient basis, and are assistedby a dietary technician.

To that end, the dieticians areworking closely with physicians,nurses, and other paramedicalprofessionals in providing theproper nutrition care to patients,adults and children, suffering fromdiabetes, kidney failure, cancerand a host of other conditions.

Both Forde, the administrativedietician and Carrington, a clinicaldietician, will admit that getting thehospital to this point hasn’t beeneasy, especially since they don’thave the personnel. But for them, it was a combination of hard workand commitment to yield the

results that are now beingproduced.

“Our challenge is staff. We havethree established clinical dieticianposts to a 600-bed hospital whichis unheard of really,” Carringtonadmitted. “A hospital of this sizewould take ten to 12 dieticians, sowe have to prioritise the care. Butwe’ve done a lot.

“Through our collaborations wehave been able to get twoBarbadians trained in nutrition anddietetics. One has joined our teamin the last five months, the other is going to be completing herregistration examination shortly.

“Another person will becommencing studies in January2015. So we are pleased to behaving persons trained in thisalready locally deficientprofession”.

Their team has sought to

streamline the nutrition care at thehospital on every level. One of theirgoals is to have all newly admittedpatients at the hospital screenedwithin 24 hours of admission todetermine their nutrition risk.

“This will be a proactiveapproach to care. Poorly nourishedpatients (both underweight andoverweight patients) are a hugeexpense to a hospital”.

Together with their colleagues,the clinical dietitians are trying toensure the management andtreatment of diseases of patientsin the hospital. They are on themultidisciplinary teams at the QEHwhere they would do rounds on theintensive care units, stroke units,the medical and surgical wards,and other areas in the hospital toensure that patients aremaintaining adequate nutritionlevels. For example, the dietitiansare instrumental in tube feedingsand intravenous feedings forpatients who cannot ingest food


THE FOOD AND NUTRITION

TEAM. Seated: Meshell

Carrington, clinical dietician (left)

and Sheila Forde, administrative

dietician.

Standing: (from left) Sade Haynes

and Kerri-Ann Best; dietary

technician clinical services,

Georgina Hall, and secretary

Nicole Forde. Missing are relief

clinical dietician Wendy Clarke

and dietary technician, food

services, Cheri Elcock. (RC)

Continued on next page.

are instrumental in tubefeedings and intravenousfeedings for patients whocannot ingest food orally.

However, the dietitiansrevealed that they are seeinga worrying trend in childhoodobesity and several childrenare failing to thrive (FTT)because they are notreceiving adequate nutrition.“The pediatric unit works veryclosely with us to helpmanage this”.

“It’s obviously a sign of theeconomic times because Ihadn’t seen failure to thrive inthe QEH so often until 2010,”Carrington said. “If you had afailure to thrive child it wasbecause of some diseasestate but not anymore. You’reseeing normal children that

are failing to thrive; they’renot growing the way theyshould grow.” This isconcerning because FTT canaffect a child’s development.

While the dietitians havebeen trained to spot diseaseswith nutrition implications,they’ve also extended thatnutrition training to otherareas in the hospital.

“We also do a lot oftraining with our nursingcolleagues,” Carrington said.“We’ve trained over 500nursing professionals interms of nutrition includingnurses from the geriatrichospital and student nurses.Why we chose the nurses firstis that they are the onesinteracting with the patients24 hours a day.”

According to Carrington,

initially it was a battle tobreak people into the wholeclinical nutrition forumbecause it was a new way ofpractising.

“People just saw the foodservice component, theydidn’t see thetherapeutic/clinical aspect ofit,” she said. “But overallwe’ve done very well. Wegotten commendations, ourNorth American colleagueswonder how we do it, many ofour colleagues in the otherislands have started to modelus, some have even asked tocomplete traineeships withus.

“We are seriouslyconsidering this as a revenuegenerating means for QEH,but of course we would needthe hands to expand” notedCarrington. “We have an

internship programme setup with McGill University inCanada where theirstudents come toBarbados to do part oftheir clinical rotation.

“We’ve also beenapproached by anotherprivate university to workwith them. So what we’vedone with our little hasaccomplished a lot andshown that we can do it”.“We have a comprehensivenutrition improvement planfor QEH and we are quiteeager to implement it.”

Website: www.barbadosivf.com


PATRICIA MANNING (left) and Marva Sobers preparing

a nutritious lunch. (RC)

From Page 14.

THE PROCUREMENTDEPARTMENT is responsiblefor the Queen ElizabethHospital’s (QEH) annualstock intake which has avalue exceeding $17 million.

This department’s keyrole is to procure medicalsupplies, food,pharmaceuticals,engineering supplies andlaboratory supplies, at themost cost-effective priceswhile ensuring that the setquality standards areadhered to and that patientcare meets best practicestandards.

Under the managementof procurement managerAnthony Grandison, thedepartment also aims tomake sure there is zerostock outs in all areas.

Inventory management is also a big function of this department and staffemploy supply chainmanagement strategies,including lead time analysis,with minimum to maximumquantity, for all supplies.Cycle counting is alsoemployed to keep inventorybalances accurate.

Grandison, who has

spent over 30 years in theaccounting and hospitalitymanagement fields,manages a staff of 40.

His senior staff iscomprised of seniorprocurement officer JennyWelch, procurement officerEzra Murray, actingprocurement officer Dwayne Forde; assistantprocurement officersDeborah Pilgrim, JoanneMurrell and Keisha Gill (Ag).Steward in charge of foodsupplies, Yvonne Burke, andaccounting aide supervisor,engineering, ChristopherInniss round up the team.

According to Grandison:“We ensure each hospitalward is adequately stockedon a weekly basis with thenecessary medical suppliesand use a top-up system toensure supplies do not runlow. The same thing goes for the Food Department.”

Under Grandison’sleadership, the ProcurementDepartment works closelywith local suppliers who are invited to tender. Closeattention is paid to costeffectiveness and the abilityof suppliers to deliver on all

supplies tendered, includinguniforms, food, and medicalsupplies.

Each application fortender is received byGrandison who analyses andmakes recommendation tothe Tenders Committee for

approval.Grandison believes the

process of tenderingpromotes competitivepurchasing, gives people the

opportunity to securesignificant contracts andallows the hospital to obtainthe highest quality products.He is also of the view that

local purchasing promotesjob security and makes for


THE PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT team. Inset left is manager Anthony Grandison.

(RCs)

• Continued on Page 19.

A CADRE OF 120 capable orderlies work under the supervision of supervisor of the Orderlies Department, Roger Rice, to provide assistance to medical andnursing staff throughout the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).

While their duties are often classified as routine, these 119 men and lonewoman, complement the day-to-day smooth operations at Barbados’ leadinghealth-care facility.

Rice, who joined the QEH 28 years ago, recalled the days when orderlies werecasually referred to as watchers, who watched out for patients. Somedepartments today are provided with at least five to seven orderlies per shift whofunction according to the needs of the respective departments to which they are assigned.

Orderlies also have a pool system in place. Those assigned to the pool arecapable of working in any of the hospital’s 29 departments, at any given time.

While the duties of orderlies vary, there are specific tasks which they perform.These include the transporting of oxygen tanks and supplies to departments, andthe moving of patients from and to various wards. Eachorderly understands the importance of adapting to theexpectations and functions of departments and mustpossess a keen knowledge of the department to whichthey have been assigned.

According to Rice: “Many adapt well to their respectivedepartments, but a normal day can be brain taxing.”

Rice, who has spent 17 years in the field of socialservices, believes he has found his niche and as suchalways seeks to ensure that he and those whom he supervises, including the hospital’s seven drivers,perform at the highest level.

He has been exposed to advanced health and socialcare training and has contributed to many of the hospital’shealth seminars as well as its internal publication, The

Pulse magazine. Rice has also increased the level ofcamaraderie among staff through the staging of lunchtimeconcerts and other social events.

“Being involved at the level at which I am involved hascaused me to see myself playing a more effective role at the hospital. I always dreamt about making a mark and I believe I have made it here,” he said.

With a clear understanding of the need to properlymentor and encourage his team, Rice was the driving forcebehind an appreciation ceremony on December 11, lastyear, which was held to recognise 26 members of hisdepartment for their sterling contributions to health care. It was the first time the department had hosted an appreciation ceremony for its workers.

Among those receiving accolades was recently retiredsenior orderly supervisor Rudolph Alleyne, who spent 40 years assigned to the Orderlies Department.

Rice is assisted in his daily duties by fellow orderlysupervisors O’Neal Deane, Carlyle Best, Cyril Taylor,Franklyn Alleyne and James Gaskin.


ROGER RICE, supervisorof the OrderliesDepartment. At left,tending to a patient’sneeds. (RC)

SOME OF THE MOSTessential services of theQueen Elizabeth Hospital

(QEH) are those provided byits HousekeepingDepartment. The 133-person staff helps to keepall the wards, operatingtheatres, and every area ofthe hospital clean andfunctioning in a sterileenvironment.

No one knows this betterthan Betty Boyce,Housekeeper 1 or head ofHousekeeping at the QEH

and her deputy Susan Murrell.

“I say to my staff that weare one of the mostimportant parts of thishospital because we areresponsible for every aspectof cleaning in the hospital,”Boyce said. “We areresponsible for the binsbeing empty, for theoperating theatres beingcarbolised, we’reresponsible for the ledgesbeing clean, scrubbing thecorridors, making sure thefloors are clean, changing of the curtains, cleaning thewards, allocating the generalworkers and the maids inHousekeeping,” Boyce said.

Since the hospital nevercloses, the HousekeepingDepartment has two 24-hourstaff systems that workdifferent shifts in theAccident and Emergency andOperating TheatreDepartments only.

“We have a call-outsystem in place where if wehave flooding, we have tocall out people,” Boyce said.“So our job doesn’t endwhen we leave here. Our jobsometimes entails themcalling us at one in themorning, but we don’t havea problem.”

Boyce and Murrell areseasoned veterans in their

department with more than20 years of experiencebetween them, havingworked their way up throughthe ranks. Whether they areoff or on holiday if thehospital calls for help in anyarea of Housekeeping,Boyce and Murrell will assistbecause they know theimportance of their roles tothe smooth functioning of the hospital.

But it isn’t only aboutcleaning and performingtheir jobs that make theHousekeeping Departmentessential. It is also abouthaving the right attitude for the job.

“I have seen a changeand improvement in theoverall attitudes of people,”Boyce said. “I always tell mystaff to see themselves asthe patient and not only asthe employee because youmay come in as anemployee and by the end ofthe day, you may be apatient, and I’ve seen ithappen. That’s why you haveto do the things that areright and clean the place tothe best of your abilitybecause you’re in thatenvironment.”

A big reason for theeffective running of theHousekeeping Departmentis the camaraderie betweenBoyce and Murrell, who havemaintained a good workingrelationship over the years.Both women constantlyconsult each other in day-to-day decisions and effectivelyplay to each other’sstrengths.

“Even in terms ofshifting or moving staff, I

would say, ‘Sue, look, whodo you think I should puthere?’ I’m not saying all thesupervisors are like that,”Boyce said. “You’ll getpeople who, don’t care whatyou try to do, will try toundermine you but she’s notlike that. She’s alwaysworked with me in buildingup the department.”

Effective departmentalfunctioning becomes keywhenever the hospital mayhave a bacterial outbreak onthe wards.

“It impacts onHousekeeping because weare the ones who have tomake sure that the outbreakis kept to a minimum,infection levels are down,”Boyce said. “We work incollaboration with infectioncontrol so they would giveus the guidelines, becausethere is a policy in place, sothat you don’t allow theperson who is on that wardto work anywhere else butthat ward.”

Keeping one or twostaffers in such a situationhelps to prevent the spread

of the bacteria to otherwards. In cases like thatheavy-duty cleaning solventsfor the eradication ofinfections are used.Cleaning personnel aretrained in handling suchprocedures, wearing theproper gowns, gloves andmasks to perform thenecessary tasks. “Oncethere is any level of bacterialinfection in the hospital,Infection ControlDepartment runs trainingsessions and theHousekeeping Departmentalways sends persons fortraining,” Boyce said.

While not every bacterialoutbreak may requireHousekeeping personnel towear protective gowns,Boyce and Murrell makesure their staff is adequatelycovered in the event of anyemergencies. That alsoincludes the Ebola virus, theHousekeeping staff hasbeen trained in the properclean-up management of thedeadly virus.

According to Boyce, some of their Housekeepingstaff have even volunteeredto work with the new facility in the event anycases of Ebola surface onthe island.


[email protected]

HEAD OF HOUSEKEEPINGBetty Boyce and herdeputy Susan Murrell. (RC)

PRIOR TO BEING housed in the precincts of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), theLaundry Department operated from a separate location at the Florence NightingaleHospital (commonly referred to as the Old Hospital), at Jemmotts Lane, St Michael.

Today, with a full-fledged staff of 38, this department which is currently headed bylaundry superintendent Richard Mapp and his assistant, linen keeper Sylvia Belgrave,can be depended on to meet all the laundry needs of this health institution.

The daily tasks of the Laundry Department are to ensure that all linen, inclusive ofpillowcases, bed sheets, blankets, towels, dressing gowns, operation and surgicalgowns, staff uniforms and doctors’ attire are properly sanitised, washed, pressed,folded, sorted, stored, and delivered daily to all wards and clinics.

This process begins with the general workers who collect the linen from all chuteslocated in the basement of the main building and transport them to the laundry wherethey are sorted by a team of four people.

The linen is then weighed by a supervisor, placed into trolleys and transported to thewashers where they are loaded by a laundry operator for the various washing cycles.Another operator retrieves them from the machine after which they go through anothersorting process.

Some items are dried in the dryers, while the sheets,pillowcases, and other pieces are fed into the flat ironpress machine to be pressed as a finished product. Twoemployees take up their position to retrieve them from the press machine after which they are folded according to a special coding system, packed into a trolley and taken to the linen room to be sorted and shelved until ready for use.

On any given day, the Laundry Department handlesbetween 2 400 and 3 000 pounds of laundry during theusual Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. workinghours, as well as on Saturdays when staff work overtime.

The Laundry Department is linked directly to the boilerroom which supplies steam, water and air. Without these, the Laundry Department cannot function effectivelyor efficiently.

The department also works closely with the SewingDepartment, which is responsible for making operationgowns, wash towels, disbursing uniforms/scrubs repairinglinen and sewing all crests and colour coding distinctionson linen and uniforms. This department is headed byErmine Millar.

Both Mapp, who has been an employee of the QEH

for the past 24 years, and Belgrave, who has served thishealth institution for 42 years, believe that the dedicationshown by the Laundry Department team is tantamount toan understatement.

According to Mapp: “Some staff can be found on thejob as early as 5:30 a.m and many go above and beyondtheir duties to ensure linen is available for use.

“Most give of their free time and volunteer to assistwherever possible. Each staff member is multitalented and can work in any section of the department.”

The commitment of the Laundry team can also be witnessed in their years of service to the QEH. Some 15 staff members have given 25 years plus serviceto the department.

The full laundry departmet team comprises 25 laundryworkers; six laundry operators, two general workers, threesupervisors, one linen keeper and one superintendent.


• From Page 16.

better and closer working relations between the QEH and the business community.

“When we buy locally we know that we are supportingjobs and there is a plowing back into the community. Wealso keep our eyes on what is happening in theinternational market, so that we buy externally only whenwe have difficulty sourcing various supplies or when thelocal pricing is significantly higher than what is beingoffered in the external markets.”

Grandison’s role as procurement manager alsoextends to him being responsible for creatingimprovement strategy planning goals for thedepartment, overseeing staff appointments andevaluations and putting performance guidancerecommendations in place.

The management of the uniform tender and itsanalysis is also a function performed by Grandison andhis senior staff. While the general ProcurementDepartment staff is not on duty each day, senior staffofficers are always on call, with officers manning theEngineering and Food Departments at least eight hours daily.

THE QEH laundrydepartment is underthe watchfulleadership of fromleft, ActingSuperintent SylviaBelgrave, andsupervisors JaniceYearwood, LeroyBurke and MonicaMorris. (RC)

“WE’VE REALLY COME A LONG WAY.”Those words of pride were from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s (QEH) chief

pharmacist Basil Bradshaw, reflecting on the growth of the hospital’s pharmacydivision over the past 50 years. No one would know that better than Bradshaw,who has been with the hospital for 45 years starting as a student dispenser andworking his way through the ranks to his current position at the helm.

Calling the functioning of the Pharmacy now and its offerings a dream,Bradshaw stated that it went from zone of confusion to the orderly, well run facilityit is now where patrons sit quietly and wait to be served.

“In those early days, people would fight in the line because the QEH was thesole source of free medicine,” Bradshaw said. “There were no polyclinics. We had


to have a police presence in the waiting area to try to keeporder.”

Back then, those seeking medication would arrive andline up at the QEH by six in the morning. The early arrivaltime was of no effect because many people went awaywithout being served and had to return two or three dayssometimes just to receive their medicine.

Unlike the facility now that has an abundance of pharmacists, Bradshaw started when there were sevenpharmacists. Seven students – of which he was one – werebrought in to assist them and ease the backlog that occurredwhen hundreds of people were seeking medications.

“In 1971, we did not have a wide variety of drugs nor didwe carry the expensive drugs that would have come on stream in 43 years,” Bradshaw said.

He credits the advent of the polyclinics and the BarbadosDrug Service for revolutionising the pharmaceutical care at the hospital. The polyclinics around the island providedalternatives for patients to get medication and ease thecrowds that would regularly congregate at the hospital.

The Barbados Drug Service helped to provide a better andwider variety of medications for patients at the hospital. Theyhelped to establish a tendering process through the hospitalwhereby medications can be obtained at cheaper rates.

“The Drug Service was a blessing for Barbadians becausethe prices we got through the tendering process werefantastic,” Bradshaw said. “Sometimes we were gettingbetter prices for drugs than in the United States. Without thetendering process, we could not have the wide variety of medications that we have, particularly asthma medicinesand inhalers.”

While Bradshaw didn’t benefit from a formal education in pharmaceutical studies like many of those currentlyemployed at the QEH, he learned on the job through theapprentice system. Over the 43 years of his tenure, he rosethrough the ranks to become chief pharmacist.

He also helped to establish certain services that helpedthe pharmacy run more efficiently. Most notably within thelast three or four years, they have computerised the systemwhich was a gift from LASCO Barbados, which meant no more handwritten labels for prescriptions or records.

“This is the only department in the hospital that has a special window for staff so they can get their medications,”Bradshaw said. “We don’t want staff who need medicinestanding in line with members of the public. The renalpatients are taken care of separately and those who sufferwith cancer don’t have to come and stand up in a line, thosedrugs are delivered.”

Bradshaw is also particularly proud of the advances thathave occurred with chemotherapy drugs. In previous years,nurses would mix the chemotherapy drugs for cancerpatients. Now that process is all done within the Pharmacydivision in a sterile room which proves to be a safer andmore effective alternative than what was done in the past at the hospital.

“Years ago, nurses were mixing the drug so if spray cameout when they added water to the vial, it was a problem.Obviously, anti-cancer drugs could cause cancer if you’reexposed to them in the wrong way,” Bradshaw revealed.“These drugs are now mixed by the staff in the pharmacywho are required to wear special gloves and gowns, andnurses have to be outfitted too when handling thatmedication.”

Even though other outlets are available, the QEHpharmacy still sees a high number of patients, approximately600 or more, which has nothing to do with the patients it hasto serve on the wards or staff members seeking medicines.

THE QEH pharmacy has seen much improvement over the years. (RC)


WITH A LONE PUBLIC HOSPITAL, theSocial Services Department caters tothe entire Barbadian communityspecifically with medical issues.

The Social Services Departmentwith its nine-person staff, inclusive ofsix medical social workers, is not thebiggest, but it is certainly one of thebusiest departments at the Queen

Elizabeth Hospital.Its mission is to empower

patients and their families whilemeeting their medically related,social, physical and emotional needsby facilitating treatment, recovery,and safe transition from one careenvironment to another.

The department, which is headed by acting seniormedical social worker Mechelle Webb-Burke, oftencarries out various forms of investigations that arereferred to them to determine the right course of action.

“All of our cases are referred by medical doctors andother social agencies. We also see people that may walkin seeking information,” Webb-Burke said. “We don’t turn anyone away.”

Daily the staff handles a wide range of cases dealingwith psychosocial assessments of inpatients andoutpatients who have been referred by doctors, or with elderly patients who have been discharged butmay be faced with issues where family members areunable to adequately care for them, or issues dealingwith children who are abused or mistreated in some way.

In cases of abused children or those admitted to thehospital with problems, the Social Services Departmentworks closely with the Child Care Board to provide thenecessary interventions.

The Social Services Department is also responsiblefor the administration of the Medical Aid Scheme wherepatients may be recommended for treatment that is notavailable in the hospital, but may be available outside oroverseas. Socio-economic assessments are also donefor patients requiring MRIs, dialysis treatments, or specially authorised drugs, to determine how much ofa financial contribution the patient would be able tomake towards their care or if a grant or other financial

measures should be sought.Another big aspect of the Social Services

Department is counselling – bereavementcounselling for loved ones whose familymembers have died, antenatal andpostnatal counselling for teenagers,financial counselling and crisis interventionrelated to emergency overseas transfers,mass casualties, and hurricane disasters.

With every day bringing differentchallenges to the Social ServicesDepartment, the team is committed tobringing the best patient care and servicedelivery. However, when an emergencysituation does arise, the department has todrop everything and adequately deal withthe crisis to bring the best resolutionpossible.

“Illness is stressful on patients andfamilies and I am happy that ourdepartment can give them support,” Webb-Burke said. “Once the patients havereceived the best treatment we can givethem, then I am contented.”SOCIAL SERVICES Department team. (RC)

MECHELLE

WEBB-BURKE

SENIOR MEDICAL SOCIAL

WORKER (AG.)


DIRECTOR OF THE Queen Elizabeth

Hospital’s (QEH) Engineering Department,Paula Agbowu, has a vision to engage in more preventative and cost-effectivemaintenance measures as a means of decreasing costs and maintainingsmooth operations in this key department.

With hopes of also establishing a“proper capital replacement programme,”Agbowu admitted that both programmeswould require major funding.

“Both programmes would requireefficient funding, but we want to reach the stage where we can get to our equipment before it breaks down and to be more effective.

In addition to seeing after thereplacement of all non-medical andmedical equipment such as the hospital’sboilers, oxygen plant, generators, medicalair plant, distil plant, vacuum, water andplumbing system, the sewerage pumpsystem, fleet of nine vehicles and ten ambulances, the Engineering Departmentservices equipment on a regular basis,particularly all life-support equipment.

This department also handles smallconstruction projects to better utiliseavailable space. The upkeep andmaintenance of the hospital’s externalgrounds, gardening, cleaning, drainage,painting, installation of floor sheeting and general building structure also fallinto the capable hands of Agbowu and her team of 85 employees.

This team is comprised of seniortechnical officers, a technical officer,supervisory and general staff, whichincluding plumbers, air-conditiontechnicians, carpenters, masons, painters, incineratorattendants, gardeners,general workers, electricians,mechanical fitters,biomedical attendants,clerical staff, and mechanics.

While ongoing certified training is provided for alltechnicians, the hospital is sometimes forced tooutsource work to servicecontractors.

According to Agbowu,outsourcing is sometimesneeded to service life-

support equipment such as anaestheticmachines, ventilators, cardiac monitors, x-ray machines and CT (CAT) Scanequipment.

She said: “As newer brands ofequipment come on stream, it isimperative that training is provided. Inmany instances, we recommend on-sitetraining rather than overseas training.Given the economic constraints this ismore cost effective and ensures thetraining of a greater number ofindividuals,”

Most of the hospital’s 12 000biomedical and non-medical pieces of equipment are in keeping with those in the first world and the island can still boast of providing top health care at the QEH.

DIRECTOR OF THE EngineeringDepartment, Paula Agbowu. (RC)

THE TASKS which fall under the hosptial’s engineering are wide and varied from small

construction project projects to better utilise space to ensuring all machinery is

properly functioning. (RCs)


www.cgmgallaher.com

THE Medical Records Department team. (RC)

EVERY PERSON in Barbados who hasever entered the Queen Elizabeth

Hospital (QEH) has a number that hasbeen assigned to them for life. Thatrevelation came from Ms Best, who is in charge of the Medical Records

Department and has been with thehospital for 35 years.

“We have something called a masterindex so everybody is put in this masterindex, and everybody is placed on thatwith a registration number,” Best said.“That number you keep for life so whenyou come back to the hospital fortreatment, we have to look for those oldnotes and join the new ones with them.”

Over the past 50 years since theopening of the hospital, hundreds of thousands of patients have beentreated at the Martindale’s Road, St Michael facility, and those files arestill in existence.

“When this hospital opened in 1964,

the files from the general hospital cameover so we have files from 1959 to present,” Best said.

Such a large volume of medical filesmeans that there is some congestion interms of storage. Initially, when Best firststarted at the hospital, there was onlyone area of storage for all files, nowthere are three areas including those forAccident & Emergency. The older files arestored in containers on the hospitalcompound.

In an effort to further streamline theMedical Records Department, thehospital is working with the Ministry ofHealth in the implementation of a newcomputerised records system. Currently,the hospital only has demographic dataon its computer system, not a fullmedical chart. When the files becomecomputerised, they said they would startwith the current file system first and thengo back to the older files.

Printed and published by THE NATION PUBLISHING CO. LIMITED, Nation House, Fontabelle, St Michael, Barbados. Telephone (246) 430-5400.

Documents

QEH 50th Anniversary