Chronic mismanagement by Health Ministry affects GPHC

Apr 26, 2014 News

Health workers attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital are constantly faced with making an uncomfortable decision about which patient, in the already overcrowded recovery room, will get the next available bed in the usually overwhelmed wards.
According to hospital sources, the health officers are frustrated that the blame for not having enough space for every patient is always placed squarely at the feet of the entity.
Members of the health system say that the fault actually lies with the Ministry of Health whose chronic mismanagement of the system creates a domino effect.
Only recently, popular radio announcer, Curtis “Dj Casual” Armstrong had no choice but to seek accommodation at a private hospital to recuperate after he had undergone surgery for two bullet wounds at GPHC.
A hospital official explained that the issue of inadequate space is one that is known to the authorities.
The representative continued, “After hours, weekends and holidays we get more than the normal influx of persons and we look at it and we ask ourselves, what is wrong with the other facilities that these people keep getting referred to the hospital for simple matters?
“In the public health system, you have choices but people don’t utilize them. There are lots of health facilities that are strategically placed to deal with patients with certain ailments.
“Apart from people who are not aware of the health facilities that are in their area, I know that some health facilities are sometimes turning people away for several reasons. Maybe because they don’t have the supplies to deal with simple problems or they just don’t want to deal with patients. Either of the two reasons will cause people to lose faith in the centres and just come straight to us.”
The source added, “Now when it comes to the hospital, we handle a lot of trauma cases from all across the country. After surgery, those patients are taken to the recovery room and they are there waiting for an available bed in the already overcrowded wards.
“You also have patients in the Accident and Emergency Department who are being treated and are waiting on a vacant bed too.”
“Then we have the normal walk-in patients who may not have a serious injury as in a broken leg or arm but let’s say it is a case of high blood pressure. They would be treated and they would have to be monitored in some cases but the A&E is so packed that there aren’t beds for everyone.
“Sometimes people have to be in chairs. Now you have patients in the recovery room and in the A&E and we are faced with choosing which one gets the next available bed in the wards. Patients end up overspending their time in these rooms.
“We have to understand that more beds in the GPHC will not solve the problem. We need to fix the other health facilities. The health system is not functioning as it should.”
The official continued, “It seems that blaming the GPHC and not dealing with the real issue and those responsible have become part of our culture. It is unfair to the people at this hospital who work tirelessly to ensure that they serve the public.
“We are bending over backwards at this facility. Those responsible for the current state of the health system need to make the changes.”
A representative of a Health Centre in Georgetown has informed that while it has referred many of its patients to the GPHC, it is done based on reasonable grounds.
The person explained, “I don’t believe that the Georgetown Public Hospital officials would be naïve enough to accuse the health facilities of just sending patients away because we are lazy. They need to be better informed.
“The only time this centre would refer persons is if there is an overload and we are running out of materials to deal with patients. There are times when we don’t even have the supplies to deal with patients.
“So, what does Georgetown Hospital want us to do? Refer the persons to another health centre? I am not going to comment further because the GPHC is pointing fingers at us when they too are guilty of a lot of mismanagement.
“GPHC needs to take responsibility for the fact that it is poorly managed and that it needs to fix its systems. GPHC needs to understand that the problem goes beyond the centres and the hospitals. The entity responsible for this disarray is the Ministry of Health, specifically the Minister, Bheri Ramsaran.”

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Chronic mismanagement by Health Ministry affects GPHC

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