Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bridgetown

For other hospitals of the same name, see Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Bridgetown
Front entrance
Geography
Location	Bridgetown, Saint Michael, Barbados
Coordinates	13°05′41″N59°36′24″W / 13.09472°N 59.60667°W / 13.09472; -59.60667
Organisation
Care system	Public
Funding	Public hospital
Type	District General
Services
Emergency department	Yes
Beds	519
History
Opened	14 November 1964 (1964-11-14)

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Q.E.H.) is district general hospital is located in Barbados' capital city Bridgetown, which is located in the parish of Saint Michael. Queen Elizabeth Hospital is a main district general hospital for the southern part of the island.

The hospital can perform most surgeries, and specialized care includes the areas of: gynaecology, paediatrics, obstetrics, cardiac surgery, plastic surgery, psychotherapy, radiology, radiography and ophthalmology. The Q.E.H. boasts also having a series of operating theaters.

The Q.E.H. is a 600-bed complex lying in the Eastern section of Bridgetown, located on the southeast bank of the Constitution River. The current hospital building was constructed in 1963–1964, and officially opened on 14 November 1964.

In December 2004, the Barbados Ministry of Health disclosed that based on foreign-investment into the country, there is a future possibility that genetic re-constructive surgery may be performed at the Q.E.H.

The Accident and Emergency Department, formerly known as QEH Casualty, was transformed in 1990 into the new A&E Department. The department was pioneered by Dr Irvine Brancker and Dr Van Tyne. It opened with a team of initially 12 junior doctors and 2 consultants. Presently, there are 20 doctors in the department. As the busiest department in the hospital, they attend to approximately 45,000 patients each year. Offering patient care on par with some first world countries, Dr Chaynie Williams, the first female head of the department, applauds the skill set of her staff and also notes that the A&E improvement programme has put measures in place to make the visit to A&E a more comfortable one, including the addition of patient advocates, a redesign of the physical space, improvements to staffing complements, improved outreach and efficiencies plus a concerted, ongoing effort to reduce waiting times.

In 2006 it was stated that the Government of Barbados was spending $112 million (US$56 million) annually running the hospital.

In 2008 the former Minister of Health Dr. Jerome Walcott said that the current hospital which is over 40 years old should be replaced by a new state of the art hospital complex. He classified it as nonsensical to spend over $400 million (US$200 million) on an extension of the current facility saying that it may cost upwards of $600 million (US$300 million) in the end. He went on to suggest the current QEH might be better off turned into a nursing home. ^[1] Later in 2011 the government's Donville Inniss gave the figure of around $800 million to build a new Hospital for Barbados. ^{[2] [3]} It was stated the government will need to review several factors including cost(s) and possible locations. ^{[4] [5]}

PAHO has rated the current facility as a Category B hospital facility. ^[6]

See also

• Saint Joseph Hospital

References

1. "New hospital way to go, says Walcott". Nation Newspaper . 29 October 2008. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
2. A new hospital for Barbados
3. The Barbados Advocate – Green light for new hospital Archived 12 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
4. Plans for new hospital Archived 12 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
5. "The Barbados Advocate - Finally, bipartisan agreement". Archived from the original on 6 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
6. Dr. James weighs in on challenges at the QEH Archived 12 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Official website – Queen Elizabeth Hospital (Bridgetown, Barbados)
• News article about QEH