Fewer old folks in A&E

THE QUEEN ELIZABETH Hospital is still working with the Ministry of Health to have “long-stay” senior citizens moved from its wards into more suitable facilities.
The hospital’s chief executive officer Dr Dexter James said people were no longer leaving elderly relatives in the Accident & Emergency Department as they were some years ago, but a number continued to reside on the wards.  
“We still have a number of long-stay patients who can be better served elsewhere, either back in their own homes or perhaps at a geriatric hospital or a home for the elderly,” he said.
James was speaking during a media briefing yesterday at which the Barbados Light & Power Company handed over a cheque for $145 000 towards the purchase of beds.
He noted that the longer these individuals stayed at the QEH, the more they were exposed to hospital acquired infections.