Bridgetown.
The Ministry of Health is adopting a tough approach on the abandonment of the elderly at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).
According to Minister of Health Donville Inniss, the elderly abandoned at the QEH will removed.
Speaking to the press after a church service at St Paul's Anglican Church marking the start of the Geriatric Hospital's Senior Week, Inniss said the Ministry of Health will be taking an aggressive approach with this troubling phenomenon.
"The elderly and even some young people are being abandoned at the Accident & Emergency Department (A&E) and on the wards upon completion of their medical treatment, causing immense pressure , as badly needed bed space is being occupied buy the forsaken. Barbadians can look forward to a little bit more tough love coming from the Ministry of Health as we tackle this matter. It cannot continued", Inniss said.
He explained that the Ministry of Health was engaging other social agencies, including the Ministry of Social Care to get the abandoned back into their homes, or transferred to private nursing homes or Government district hospitals but he was not pleased with the speed this had been going.
"So, with effect from this week, we will be taking a little bit more aggressive approach to not only moving those who have been discharged out of the QEH but also to avoiding build up of such again", the Minister said.
"The majority of those abandoned are pensioners who receive allowances or have some form of income generating source available to them which could assist with they transfer or admission to an appropriate nursing home or care facility" says Inniss.
You must be logged in to post a comment.