THE QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL (QEH) will benefit from close to $1/2 million in donations over the next four years.
A private sector donor group, chaired by Joseph Goddard, has teamed up to make contributions of $425 000 annually to the QEH by way of upgraded facilities and other implements to improve the delivery of service at the institution.
The nine-member group, made up of Ansa McAl Barbados Limited, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Barbados National Bank Inc., Barbados Shipping & Trading Co. Limited, Caribbean Consultants Limited, Cave Shepherd & Company Limited, Goddard Enterprises Limited, PreConco Limited and Williams Industries Limited, has been putting money into projects at the QEH from last year as part of a five-year agreement.
The first set of money went towards a computerized maintenance programme, which came at a cost of $250 000. Director of engineering services Paula Yarde said the QEH was currently at the data gathering stage and that the process should be completed by July in preparation for a bulk upload.
The full implementation is expected to be completed over two years.
Yarde said the overall goal was to ensure that the uptime of equipment was close to 100 per cent, which would ultimately result in improved patient care.
Another project being targeted is to upgrade a room on the dialysis unit into a surgical unit, which would take some of the load off the main operating theatres and remove the dialysis patients from the long waiting lists.
Research on lupus, especially in the area of hip scans, is the third project that is being targeted.
The group is currently looking at proposals from other departments for the next disbursement of funds.
In thanking the consortium for their contributions, chief executive officer Dr Dexter James said more private sector organizations were coming forward to support the hospital and that collectively they would ensure that the plant was sustainable.
He said the hospital got a $1million donation two weeks ago to increase its cardiovascular services.
He noted that it would be disbursed over five years.
He added that the injections were a measure of hope that the QEH was at the “cusp of turning over”. (YB)