Isolation unit at Princess Margaret Hospital gets surveillance system

The Isolation Unit at the Princess Margaret Hospital in St Thomas will now be under 24-hour surveillance.

This was made possible under the Good Samaritan Project of the parish’s Lay Magistrate Association, which donated four Hikvision Motorised Camera Systems valued at approximately $160,000.

Speaking at the handover ceremony yesterday at the hospital, senior medical officer Dr Samantha Walker said the system will enhance the unit’s operations in the monitoring of COVD-19 patients.

“In caring for patients of COVID-19 we also have to be aware of the risks to staff themselves and that was the importance of having a surveillance system. It is very important, in terms of ensuring the safety of the staff, that we have access to observe our patients at all times. Thankfully, for the parish, we did very well, as even though we had two positive patients, they were well compared to other patients in the island.

“That being said, we took no chance. The clinical staff, both medical and nursing, under the supervision and in collaboration with our administration, understood the importance of us extending service above and beyond,” she said.

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