The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

AFTER the Prime Minister toured Princess Margaret Hospital and admitted the facility was at a “crisis” point, Bahamas Nurses Union president Amancha Williams said she hoped the walkabout will bring a quick resolution to the problems at the facility.

Several wards are currently being renovated at PMH.

“I hope that the Prime Minister’s walkabout will bring a quick resolution to our issues in the hospital because he has firsthand (view) of what is happening,” Ms Williams said. “I hope that the pressure will be placed on the architects, the builders, that the timeframe of completion will be on an urgent scale and will be done quickly, no later than June or May.”

She said she has been calling attention to PMH’s structural issues for years.

The Progressive Liberal Party has been in government for almost two years. I have been on numerous occasions speaking to various news (media), The Tribune and The Guardian, in reference to the condition of PMH. PMH is run right down to the ground,” Ms Williams said.

“We can no longer do business in a facility like that,” she said. “In order for our patients to receive a standard of high level of care, until death or until delivery of birth we have to put our people in a better place.”

She also said: “When you put people in the atmosphere to work and work in poor working conditions, what is your expectation?”

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis gave a frank assessment of the hospital’s condition on Saturday, admitting PMH is in a state of “crisis,”.

“We were hearing about it. We were seeing the news about it, but to come and walk and experience it is truly heart wrenching to see what we have today but we will fix it — we are fixing it,” he told reporters.

PMH has seen an influx of patients recently, with Ms Williams recently telling this newspaper that the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department had no space to keep some patients.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville has asked the public to “please bear” with his ministry as officials seek to address bed shortages at PMH and also carry out repairs at the facility.

PMH also received negative headlines after the recent death of Kenise Darville. The mother-of-three went live on Facebook from her hospital bed complaining about negligence at the facility shortly before her death. The allegations are being investigated.

The news sparked public outcry and prompted others to share their allegations of poor treatment of the facility.

Asked if she thought the tour was for public relations after the complaints, Ms Williams said she did.

She said she hoped the “poor conditions” at the hospital will spur Mr Davis into “quick action” to ensure the country has a new hospital by 2025.

She also said she hopes the money that was allocated years ago to refurbish deteriorating wards but was never utilised is now used to keep the facility up to standard.