RESIDENTS joined with the frustrated nurses and staff of the Kwakwani Hospital in recommending that an entirely new building be constructed to serve the community as the current facility can no longer accommodate the daily inflow of patients. This call was made in addition to many other complaints at a public consultation hosted by the Linden Hospital Complex on Wednesday. The consultation held at the Workers Union Hall in Kwakwani saw scores of residents and nurses present, who made it very clear that there is much to be desired as it relates to the services and conditions of the hospital.
Listening to the concerns raised were Chairman of the Linden Hospital Complex Board Mortimer Mingo, Medical Superintendent (ag) Dr. Steve Mark, Administrative Services Manager Mrs. Michelle Bollers, Chairman of the Regional Health Committee Dr. Gregory Harris, Public Relations Officer Shanteal Alleyne and other board members and staff of the Linden Hospital Complex.
One resident in her presentation recommended that when the hospital was built in the early 1900s, the population of Kwakwani was very small, consisting merely of bauxite workers. However,from then to now, Kwakwani has seen an overwhelming population growth and therefore the hospital should not be a district or a level three hospital, but a regional hospital. For this to be possible there is need for an entirely new facility as the current one-storey building can no longer accommodate the residents. She stressed that in addition to the residents, there is a mobile population consisting of miners, loggers and bauxite workers. She was supported by the rest of the residents with loud applause and similar sentiments were echoed by staff of the hospital, who spoke of the daily pressures of working in a cramped atmosphere. The issue of patient privacy was raised as the overcrowded wards do not allow for patients to enjoy the privacy they need as a result of insufficient space.
Limited Supplies
The authorities were told of the limited equipment and inadequate supplies available at the hospital, which force the nurses to improvise when the need arises. One visibly frustrated nurse related the reality of having to work with one blood pressure apparatus, two thermometers, one nebuliser, three wheelchairs, one refrigerator to store supplies, etc. “We cannot carry out maximum care, we have been improvising for a long time because we have inadequate supplies…when persons come to the hospital they say the nurses taking long, but these are the conditions we are working under…we have one refrigerator that is not really working or functioning properly,[so] we have to make our ice packs by using gloves,” the nurse revealed. She added that the other nurses are planning to have a sit-out if these issues are not expeditiously looked into.
The medex of the hospital however revealed that in the very hospital, these supplies were available in the pharmacy but could not explain why it was not made available for the nurses to use.
Administrative breakdown
Addressing the issues, Mingo supported the call for a new hospital to be built. Mingo however was disappointed in the unavailability and limited supply of basic equipment and supplies to the facility. He said the situation could have been avoided if an administrator were present at the hospital. “The hospital should have an administrator who coordinates all of the services and so we will be able to address those issues in a very timely way; with that responsibility, that person will be able to channel those issues directly to the CEO, Manager of Administrative Services to deal with those issues in a timely manner,” Mingo stressed. “I say we must cut the bureaucracy out because basically when we dwell on bureaucracy, basically what happens is the people suffer,” Mingo said.
Other issues that were raised at the consultation is the need for a medivac, an ultrasound machine, 24-hour water supply, an ambulance, increase in nurses’ allowances and more resident doctors to decrease the amount of transfers to the Linden Hospital, thus allowing the nurses to take the trail to Linden late at nights.
Medical Superintendent Dr. Steve Marks, in his overview and projection, revealed that there are 20 nurses, two doctors, one medic, two pharmacy assistants, two pharmacy technicians, one audiology technician, one rehab assistant and one dentist. There are several clinics and services available at the hospital. For 2016, the hospital saw 519 outpatients, 174 admission, 45 successful deliveries, and saw 1244 medical patients. Marks highlighted that there are several projections for 2017, which include the increase of the amount of doctors, a new operating room to commence surgeries and a resident x-ray technician. The representatives stated that they are committed to equalising services at the Kwakwani Hospital and promised that things would get better.