At last! 24-hr polyclinic

The much anticipated 24-hour system is officially underway at the Winston Scott Polyclinic.

The initiative, which has been championed by the Barbados Labour Party Government since it came to office, was officially launched yesterday morning by Minister of Health and Wellness, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic. In a brief ceremony held at the polyclinic, the Health minister maintained that the service will be of benefit to those who cannot afford private health care in this country after normal working hours.

“It is a service that is vitally needed by a large number of Barbadians who do not have the financial resources to seek medical attention outside of normal working hours of the polyclinics, and who then have to go to the QEH’s Accident and Emergency Department and wait for inordinately long periods of time. That is why this idea came into being, to expand on the Fast Track [Clinic] services, and to provide these services we are going to be offering here at Winston Scott from today [Monday],” he said.

Minister Bostic noted that the journey towards the 24-hour system has been a long one, and he offered apologies on behalf of his Ministry for not being able to deliver it last October as was promised. The Ministry had also set a June 1 commencement date for the service, and that too was postponed after there was concern raised by the nurses. Then mid-June it was announced that the service would commence on July 1 with specially contracted staff operating it.

“There were some issues that were raised that had to be dealt with, valid issues and I am pleased to say that we are in a position now where we have been able to resolve all of the issues that have been raised. So right now it is really a matter of getting things operationalised and going, and we certainly will sit back and see what happens so that we can make some determination in terms of how we can improve the service and also how we can initiative the service at St. John,” he stated.

Meanwhile, speaking to the plan to have a similar service launched at the polyclinic at the David Thompson Health and Social Services Complex, Glebe Land, St. John, Minister Bostic said his ministry is still on track to introduce 24-hour operations there as well. He indicated that as soon as they are able to acquire all the necessary resources, which is likely to take a few months, that system will be up and running in the St. John facility.

In an interview with the media after the ceremony, he gave the assurance that all the security concerns relative to the Winston Scott Polyclinic were “ironed out quite some time ago”, adding that the polyclinic is very well secured.
“Not only in terms of electronic security, or human or manned security, but also some protocols we have in place with the Royal Barbados Police Force in the unlikely event we have to respond to an incident here,” he stated.

Speaking earlier during the ceremony, Dr. Joanne Bradford, Head of the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department at the hospital, noted that the new clinic will allow persons access to urgent care day or night. She noted that often persons present at the A&E with vomiting, rash and minor injuries and these persons can now be treated at the 24-Hour Clinic. But, should they require further management, she said they can be sent to the A&E.

She explained that should such persons use the new clinic it would reduce the waiting times and the number of persons presenting to the A&E. Bradford explained this would allow that hospital department, to focus on persons who come with more “urgent and emergency conditions”.

“In the foreseeable future, the impact of the 24-hour urgent care service offered by the Winston Scott Polyclinic, could be increased further by investments of resources such as a dedicated shuttle service, additional access to diagnostic services such as ultrasound, bedside blood testing and the provision of additional services,” she added.