An alleged standoff between nurses at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) and ward nurses at the University Hospital of the West Indies has culminated in A&E nurses walking off the job.
The Gleaner understands that the A&E nurses are frustrated with severe overcrowding in the department which has limited space to settle patients.
An individual close to the situation claimed wards have retained several old beds that can no longer be used, which has prevented new beds from being put in place to accommodate new patients.
As a result, the source said, the A&E is being used as a "storeroom" for emergency patients, some for several days and who are in need of care beyond what the emergency department can provide after initial assessment and treatment.
Meanwhile, Colonel Dr Sydney Powell acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the UHWI, told The Gleaner that patients were being removed from the A&E department and placed on wards.
"We have more admissions than usual and, what it is now, it is creating a backlog of patients in the emergency room who we need to move to areas in the wards. So that's what we're doing now to move those patients out of A&E to the wards, where we would have identified spaces for those patients who have been admitted,” he said.
He added that, up to 50 patients were transferred from A&E to other wards last night as the hospital’s administration worked to rectify the issue.
However, a Gleaner source said fewer than 20 patients were transferred from the A&E last night, but scores more remained this morning, leading to the protest action.
Powell stressed though that patients were still being removed.
"It's a process. Clearly you would discharge some patients which would provide beds, so you can keep moving patients in and moving patients out,” he said.
He stated too that the overcrowding in the A&E has also led to concerns from the nursing staff about the heat in the department.
Powell said that concern was being addressed as patients are removed.
- Erica Virtue and Sashana Small
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