PM views ‘bleak’ conditions at PMH

Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis yesterday described conditions at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) as “dismal” and “bleak” following his first tour of the facility since taking office.

“The healthcare system is a high priority for us,” Davis told reporters outside the hospital. 

“At the moment, the system is such that it has been overwhelmed by the COVID cases and that has to be addressed first to determine exactly what we do. I have to sit down now with my minister of health and we will craft a way forward.

“In the immediate term, we will have some short-term solutions to what we see here. It is accepted by all that the state of the hospital is dismal and we need to address it.”

During his tour, Davis was accompanied by Minister of Health Dr. Michael Darville, PMH Administrator Mary Walker, Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) Managing Director Catherine Weech and officials from the Ministry of Health.

Davis, who was sworn in as prime minister on Friday, said it was important that he tour the facility to ensure that he has “a full picture” of what is happening as The Bahamas grapples with its worst wave of COVID-19.

“There’s some urgency of getting this virus under control, so I met with Dr. Dahl-Regis on Friday,” said Davis, who himself fought a battle against COVID-19 just over a year ago.

“I met with the nurses and doctors today along with the minister of health and we have gotten a picture from their perspective of what is happening in this fight against the virus. It’s bleak.”

Darville said he has made inquiries into whether there are sufficient beds at PMH.

“I still am not convinced and so we need to look for additional space for additional improvements to the tertiary facility to ensure that we are able to handle our COVID cases in an effective way without compromising the state of our tertiary healthcare facility,” he said.

As of Monday, 20,288 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in The Bahamas.

Of that figure, 1,828 cases were confirmed since September 1.

One hundred and sixty-five people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday. Ninety-five of those people were hospitalized at PMH.

With more than 500 people dead from COVID-19 since March 2020, the morgue at PMH has seen a significant increase in bodies.

“We noticed that the morgue, I gather from my tour guide that we have over 320 bodies in there and that the staffing is no bigger than it was when it was just ordinary times with 30, 40 bodies, and so we have to address that situation,” Davis said.

“I don’t have enough information yet as to how we will address it, but it will be addressed. I’m directing it to my minister of health. He will be on it, but we know that that’s a challenge.”

Davis said he will immediately address the concerns of frontline healthcare workers. 

He said there are “some serious concerns attending to the doctors and nurses that have demotivated them”.

Davis said demotivation impacts and affects productivity. 

“That is one of things that we are going to do,” he said. 

“That is why we met with the nurses union and doctors union and other personnel in the profession to discuss their concerns, their challenges and how they see the way forward.

“As I’ve promised, I’m going to listen to the doctors and the nurses and the experts on this issue. That’s what we have started doing today, and we’ll continue doing that and from what they have said, we are addressing their concerns immediately.”

In its “Our Blueprint for Change”, the PLP has promised to build a new hospital on New Providence and one on Grand Bahama, and also to improve healthcare infrastructure throughout the Family Islands, but no timeline was specified for those initiatives.

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