The Tribune

In recent years the Princess Margaret Hospital’s Accident and Emergency department has seen unprecedented levels of overcrowding, with wait times of up to 12 hours.

However, the department’s new Chief of Service is determined to positively change the face of Accident and Emergency. Dr Christa Wells’ main goals are to improve efficiency of patient flow, decrease waiting times and to improve customer service and experience.

Dr Wells began her medical career in 1999 at the University of the West Indies, Trinidad campus, and completed her final two years at University of the West Indies School of Clinical Medicine and Research in the Bahamas.

She successfully completed medical school in 2004. In 2006, she was awarded the Most Outstanding Intern Award of 2004/2005 granted by the Medical Association of the Bahamas. She later joined the Accident and Emergency Department in 2006 as a senior house officer and was recognised in her first year as the up and coming senior house officer.

Dr Wells’ love for basketball and health afforded her the opportunity to merge both passions as she travelled with the national senior and junior basketball teams as the team physician from 2006 to 2008. In 2007, she served as the secretary for the Hospital Doctor’s Association. She became one of the pioneers for the post-graduate Emergency Medicine Programme in the Bahamas and completed post-graduate training in 2012.

In 2014, Dr Wells’ desire was to give back to the post-graduate programme, which motivated her to become the programme coordinator and clinical tutor for Emergency Medicine. She received a certificate from the University Teaching and Learning (CUTL) in 2017.

In 2014, Dr Wells became a consultant in Emergency Medicine and a member of the Consultant Physician Staff Association. She served as the public relations officer for the Consultant Physician Staff Association from 2014 to 2016, and the medical coordinator for the Ride for Hope event in 2015. She also served as a member of the Medical Association of the Bahamas Conference Committee in 2015 and 2016.

In 2017, Dr Wells advanced her career by becoming the Chief of Service for the Accident and Emergency department at PMH. She is passionate in her service to help others and impact change in the healthcare system.