Princess Margaret Hospital.
By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
ONGOING staff shortages coupled with rising COVID-19 hospitalisations continue to strain healthcare workers on the frontline fight against COVID-19, the country’s top infectious disease expert said yesterday.
According to Dr Nikkiah Forbes, director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme at the Bahamas Ministry of Health, these are some of the biggest challenges being faced in the country’s healthcare system, specifically at Princess Margaret Hospital.
The nation is battling its third wave of new infections, with total cases now at 11,024 after 58 new infections were recorded on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, 58 people are said to be in hospital sick with the virus. Of this figure, 26 were at PMH, 17 at Doctors Hospital, eight were at South Beach Acute Care and seven at Grand Bahama Health Services.
Despite rising virus numbers and COVID-19 related admissions, Dr Forbes said the hospital currently has sufficient bed capacity to handle the increase of positive patients.
At a Ministry of Health press conference last month, Health Minister Renward Wells said The Bahamas has bed availability for some 100 COVID patients.
However, ever since the country entered its third wave, hospitalisations have steadily risen.
“So, in this third wave, the hospitalisations continue to go up and the institutions are challenged as it relates to health care worker capacity,” Dr Forbes told The Tribune.
“We haven’t reached the full bed capacity (but) we need nurses and doctors to take care of patients. So, we’re facing challenges with the health care worker capacity. There is a nurse shortage. That’s also something you consider. I can tell you that we’re challenged in terms of limitations that we have right now on available nursing staff and that we have lost a number of nurses in the service.”
Bahamas Nurses Union President Amancha Williams told The Tribune more than a dozen nurses have left PMH in the last few months.
“I believe it’s more than 20 just from that facility alone,” she said. “We’ve had a number of nurses (who have) left the country. I know A and E (Accident and Emergency) had seven (nurses) leave all at once.”
Government officials have previously announced plans to hire nurses from abroad to aid in the country’s fight against COVID. However, it is not clear what other steps have been taken to acquire additional medical workers since then.
Yesterday, Dr Forbes also spoke about the rise in virus-related deaths after another person died from the disease on Wednesday. The latest deceased victim is a 68-year-old woman from Exuma.
Her death has pushed the nation’s overall death tally to 216.
“So, the challenge when you’re in a COVID-19 surge when the patients are presenting and more patients are presenting everyday in the surge, we know that deaths also go up and so that has been challenging and we are seeing that there has been an increase in deaths as we are in the surge in this third wave,” Dr Forbes said.
She said there have also been a few instances where patients have died shortly after being admitted to hospital, a situation that she said is concerning.
“Now, we are also seeing that people are coming in very short of breath with low oxygen levels, needing a lot of support and some of them are getting a lot sicker very quickly. Some of them are even dying shortly after admission and our concerns are because with the identification, that the genes for certain variants are here and there could be three variant strains and we know some of those strains are associated with sicker patients and higher mortality so we all do have to keep our guards up.”
In April, health officials revealed that positive test results reported by the National Reference Lab “are showing evidence of an increasing number of genomic deletions,” which indicates that COVID mutations are present in the country.
Several samples have since been sent abroad to determine which COVID-19 variant is present in the country.
However, it is not clear if officials have yet received those results.
• This story has been changed to reflect that the latest COVID-19 death is a 68-year-old woman from Exuma – not an 88-year-old-man from New Providence.
Comments
tribanon 3 years, 6 months ago
Bahamian nurses are fleeing our public health system because of the way they've been treated by ministry of health bureacrats, including the minister of health himself. And the grass is certainly much greener for them elsewhere, especially in the US.
Our corrupt elected officials have left the cupboard bare so we must now hire only those we can afford to pay and who don't mind both terrible pay and deplorable working conditions. But not to worry, the ministry of health will likely soon be recruiting the best Haitian medical doctors and Haitian nurses that Haiti has to offer. The lower ranks of our police force have already been Haitianized to a large extent, so why not begin Haitianizing our public health professionals?
Just pray each Sunday while in church that you and your loved ones stay healthy and never end up needing serious medical treatment from our increasingly dysfunctional and all but collapsed public health system.
Emilio26 3 years, 6 months ago
Tribanon our public healthcare system urgently needs serious reform ranging from the PHM and the government clinics. There should've been a socialized healthcare system in place decades ago similar to what we see in the UK, Canada and some EU nations however, past and current PLP and FNM administrations have failed to upgrade our healthcare system and and the end result is the bahamian people are reaping what our rulers have sown.
bahamianson 3 years, 6 months ago
just get enough for the 4th and 5th wave. with low numbers like 40,000 vaccinated, we are definitely going to have them . Get vaccinated people, the vaccine will not kill black and brown people. you will be ok, but check with your physician first.
JokeyJack 3 years, 6 months ago
They talking about the nurses who after they graduated in 2009 had their lunch vouchers canceled right away but had to wait many months for their first paycheck? Those nurses? Or is it the group if nurses a few years ago that govt outright even refused to meet with? Ot is it the nurses who the Bahamian people every five years force to work under either an FNM or PLP govt? Now those voters have no nurses and i say didnt they know thats what they were voting for?
SP 3 years, 6 months ago
The US Senate Committee On State Affairs recently revealed that with almost 4000 deaths so far contributed to the COVID-19 vaccine, it has killed more people than all other vaccines combined!
The report says 156 deaths were caused by the SAR's vaccine and the program was cancelled because it was deemed too dangerous.
This revelation will cause a halt to people taking the vaccine. Let's see how long it takes for them to finally admit the virus could be avoided with simple vitamin supplements.
tribanon 3 years, 6 months ago
Vitamin D3, at least 2000 to 4000 International Units a day, and Zinc 50 mg per day.
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 6 months ago
What are the long term effects of taking those unregulated & unproven supplements? :)
tribanon 3 years, 6 months ago
In the long term could well prove to be much less harmful than being jabbed with these warp speed developed experimental vaccines. lol
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 6 months ago
You aint seriously quoting tucker carlson and that moron ron johnson though?
No. There are not 4000 deaths contributed to the vaccine.
Please don't be a moron your whole life. Try harder. Do better...
Damn you trumpies dumb...
JokeyJack 3 years, 6 months ago
You know, ProudLoud, if Tucker Carlson says that the sun rises in the east - that does not cause it to suddenly start rising in the west. If a moron tells you that keeping your car tires inflated to the right pressure saves on gas - that doesn't mean you should run outside and let 20psi out of your tires so they are half flat. When this is all over and it is revealed how many millions of people died simply because they were denied HCQ and Ivermectin, the court trials will begin. Many countries in Africa have fewer than 200 deaths, some have less than 50 deaths due to Covid and that is simply due to HCQ being normally taken for Malaria. It is amazing that people (like you) would allow innocent people to die just out of spite for Donald Trump. Now everyone who wants to survive by taking HCQ is a Trump supporter - most people don't even follow politics that seriously and could not care less about Trump or Biden or any of them - but if they are sick, they would like to have some medicine. If someone breaks their leg nowadays, do they have to wait for the bone marrow vaccine - or are we still allowed to put casts on broken limbs?
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 6 months ago
Wrong, it's due to population density, lifestyle and interaction with outsiders !! There is absolutely no peer reviewed evidence to support HCQ & Ivermectin as being useful to protect against catching COVID.
All you people who love to complain about how rushed the vaccine clinical trials were, and won't be taking the vaccine, are the same people who are more than happy to take HCQ and Ivermectin without performing any clinical trials. Something stinks with your logic !
tribanon 3 years, 6 months ago
You're certainly entitled to your 'opinion'.
SP 3 years, 6 months ago
Exactly which part of "The US Senate Committee On State Affairs" are you having trouble comprehending?
Bobsyeruncle 3 years, 6 months ago
Holy Crap !! Where did you get that BS from ?
SP 3 years, 6 months ago
What's wrong with you people? I watched a recent sitting of "The US Senate Committee On State Affairs". I know it is an astonishing revelation and kept out of the media probably so as not to deter vaccinations, but it is what it is!
The report also acknowledged the vaccine IS NOT FDA approved and only being administered on an "emergency" use bases.
tribanon 3 years, 6 months ago
By the way, let's all hope the UWI's standards for minting new medical doctors and nurses do not become any lower than they already have been made in recent years in an effort to address the severe shortages of doctors and nurses in many of the Caribbean countries like the Bahamas.
Sickened 3 years, 6 months ago
I would love to hear why nurses are leaving directly from the nurses themselves. Are they heading to the US for more money? Are they just leaving a bad working environment and staying home?
DDK 3 years, 6 months ago
Probably both.......
professionalbahamian 3 years, 6 months ago
"... because with the identification, that the genes for certain variants are here and there could be three variant strains and we know some of those strains are associated with sicker patients and higher mortality so we all do have to keep our guards up.”
Any evidence to support the above claim? Last we were told the variants are more contagious and less severe?
Thanks for the continued confusion and crappiest vaccine available on the market though - hey here's an idea- why not just get a vaccine from the source country where all this started instead?! That would be encouraging (NOT) - No thanks!
bogart 3 years, 6 months ago
Extremely distressing story with all the shortages of nurses.
Dis shortages seems to have gone on over years ago and with former senior govt official Dr. Duane Sands revealing of these nurses shortages years ago, brought over from previous govt.
The solution as in commonsense business is to start firing the administrative and responsible salaried govt jobs not done for proper staffing, for the nation most important hospital.... in their year after year after year after year after year.....shortage of nurses in the Hospital.......YA can't expect any difference results time after if ya using the same ingredients......getting the same results of shortages....and somehow expecting different result year after year...AND well mudda tek sic now nurses leaving in groups....!!!!!!!
Something has obviously gone wrong. What next but horrors in peoples mind gon happen when they really have to go to the nation's primary Hospital..???? What a most diabotical situation when in the hugely mismanaged govt staffing and salary renumerations ...is that the critical necessary govt Department of the Nurses have been leaving for years, and droves now leaving. And versus the other govt Departments and Agencies keeps getting decades now being bloated. What shambles, upsidedown, what horror.
John 3 years, 6 months ago
EXPECT MORE NURSES to leave and go to the US as Joe Biden promises to relax restrictions on persons from the Caribbean wishing to migrate to the USA. So as the US opens its borders, it must now compete with Canada, who has become the destination of choice when Donald Trump closed the US borders. Bahamian nurses and not only hand picked, but well that trained and are in high demand around the world. Some who lleave can easily double and sometimes triple the salaries they make at local hospitals. Strangely enough, during the 1918 pandemic nurses were also in short supply and great demand. Eventually the shortage got so severe, hospitals that practiced segregation decided to allow Black nurses to join their staff. And this went a long way in relieving the nurse shortage. Then once the pandemic was over…
UN 3 years, 6 months ago
Leaving their ‘beloved’ nation high and dry to follow the money (but others can’t do the same). Unsurprising (recall a nurse having a breakdown in a room filled with people during a hospital visit to see my sick mama, “they don’t pay me enough to deal with all these people!”). Yep: so VERY selfless, patient and patriotic..
BONEFISH 3 years, 6 months ago
Nursing is a noble and very important profession. Nurses do more than change patients and throw out bed pans. Qualified nurses are in short supply in the first world countries. The US has a very aggressive recruiting program.
Nursing studies is not easy jack. I Know a young lady who finish her bachelor's and passed her nursing registration exams last year. I know somebody whose daughter is working as a nurse in the US making a high six figure salary.
Nurses are fed-up with conditions they work under in the public system, also with the salary and benefits. This problem has been doing on for years .Nurses have migrated from this country and double and sometimes triple their salaries in the US.
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