The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) is set to receive a $130 million injection of funds as part of a major modernisation drive, even as it mounts a fresh campaign to secure donations from Barbadians abroad.
Director of Medical Services Anthony Harris revealed that the first $65 million tranche is “imminent” as the hospital evaluates equipment needs.
“Medicine is a technologically based practice these days, and so we are going to be expanding,” he said.
The announcement came during Thursday’s handover ceremony where the Barbados Canada Foundation (BCF) donated three transport monitors valued at $92 000 to the island’s public hospital as it nears its 60th anniversary next month.
Harris disclosed that a “fully state of the art CT scanner” is currently being installed in the Accident and Emergency Department, eliminating the need for patients to leave A&E for scans.
The newly acquired transport monitors are already improving patient care, he noted.
“It allows us to monitor the patient as we move from point to point safely because we would know what all of their parameters are, oxygen levels and so on, for the entire journey,” Harris explained. “We no longer have to make a dash for it so, of course, you can see the benefits of this kind of equipment. It is a vital piece of equipment, no doubt, and it is something that is going to be utilised heavily as we move patients from Accident and Emergency to various areas and vice versa.”
QEH philanthropy officer, Gay Howell said the hospital is intensifying efforts to engage Barbadians abroad due to the increasing need for costly medical equipment.
“The diaspora are willing to give back, Barbadians living abroad are willing to give back to Barbados and the QEH; they just want to know how they can do it seamlessly,” she said. “That is what I am working on. We are looking to break into the UK market [and] we are certainly working hard to build relationships outside of Barbados, and to ensure that Barbadians know how they can donate to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.”
Treasurer of the Barbados Canada Foundation (BCF) Hugh Graham. (SB)
Howell added: “Earlier this year, we [went] to Kentucky, and we… received a donation of equipment and supplies worth about half a million dollars through the consulate in that area.”
Nigel Whitehall, acting chairman of the QEH board of management, who thanked the BCF for the generous donation, encouraged Barbadians living abroad, particularly those who visit the island, to feel proud of giving back to the island’s main tertiary health facility.
He said: “They must remember when they come back to Barbados, this is the main hospital they will have to visit. So they must make their contributions to ensure that when they come back here, should something go wrong and they have to visit the hospital, that we are in a position to deliver the best and highest quality of service.”
The Barbados Cancer Foundation has so far donated $320 752 worth of equipment and other supplies to the QEH since its creation in 2013. Treasurer Hugh Graham said the charity has been keen from its inception to give back to the QEH, and he expressed hope that it can significantly increase its annual contributions.
“I look forward to when I can say that the total we have donated to the QEH to date is $1 million-plus,” Graham said. “That is when I will probably retire and allow someone else to continue doing it. It gives me personal satisfaction to say that I am doing something worthwhile, giving back to my people in my country.” (SB)
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