The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A TEENAGE girl injured in a serious crash was forced to wait for hours at the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) because no intake staff were on duty to register her despite doctors and nurses being present, according to her mother.

The case is among the latest to highlight frustration with conditions at PMH and adds to growing concern over gaps in service at the under-resourced facility.

Denise Major described an experience long echoed by other families: long wait times, limited staff, and poor patient flow.

She said the ordeal began after arriving at PMH with her injured 17-year-old daughter shortly after midnight

The minor was ejected from a vehicle following a serious traffic accident and was transported to hospital by a private vehicle.

“The drama started from on the scene, because no ambulance was available to show up. When I call 919 they were like, okay, no ambulance coming for another maybe 30 to 40 minutes, and they said I could take her via car,” Ms Major said.

Ms Major said clinical staff responded immediately upon their arrival, however, the process stalled when registration was required.

“Go to the registration desk, no one's on duty, absolutely no there,” she said.

She claimed repeated efforts to locate registration staff were unsuccessful and that clinical staff were unable to proceed formally without confirming registration.

She described the lack of registration coverage as a critical bottleneck that halted care.

“If the person is not registered, then nothing can be done. So now my daughter, who has been ejected out of a vehicle, cannot get any scans done, cannot get any medication, cannot get anything done because she is not in the system,” she said.

Although frustrated over the administrative gap, Ms Major said she was thankful for the on-duty doctors and nurses who she said decided to proceed with urgent care despite the lack of registration.

“The doctors and nurses did their part, I appreciate them doing it,” she said, noting that they later ensured her daughter received necessary scans and care.

Ms Major said this decision helped prevent further delays in treatment.

“I don’t know how the decision was made to get the CT scan finally done without them being registered, but they got it done,” she said.

However, she raised broader concerns about shortages in support staff, including porters responsible for transporting patients for imaging and treatment.

“I had to lift my child on the CT scan. I had to assist, and other persons had the same thing,” she said.

Ms Major said families were left physically assisting patients due to limited staff coverage, describing a system stretched beyond capacity.

She said one porter appeared responsible for multiple patients at once.

“I watched the man. He worked hard last night because he had quite a few people to move from the different areas,” she said.

She said no formal explanation was provided for the overnight absence of registration staff, although patients were repeatedly told no one was available in the department.

“We were standing up, we were waiting, we were knocking on the door, we were looking through the peephole. No one's there. There's nothing they can do about it,” she said.

She added that the situation appeared to be accepted as unchangeable by those present, stressing that the issue was not with doctors or nurses but with systemic support failures.

“The doctors and nurses did their part, but for hours their hands were tied,” she said.

Ms Major said the incident reflected deeper structural weaknesses rather than isolated absenteeism, and argued that hospitals should have redundancy systems in place to prevent a single vacant post from shutting down critical intake functions.

“There’s no way in any organization your staff does not show up to work, and there is nothing else left in play to do. Like, what is the next step, what is the protocol?” she said.

“A whole department should not have to shut down because someone did not show up at work, especially not a hospital."

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters ahead of yesterday’s first Cabinet meeting, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville pointed to ongoing capital works and system improvements aimed at modernising hospital infrastructure and services.

Dr Darville said government funding has already been allocated for major redevelopment projects and outlined a phased plan targeting several hospital units, including dialysis and eye care services.