Bridgetown.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital(QEH) and the Immigration Department, has established an improved system of communications which has resulted in better monitoring of non nationals who come to Barbados seeking medical attention at the island's lone health care facility.
Chief Executive Officer of the QEH, Dr Dexter James, told Trakker News:"We have revised the arrengements for overseas referrals which deal with addressing the the administrative arrangement for referrals, as well as the method of payment and how payments are made prior to admission to the QEH",James said.
He spoke of patients from overseas turning up at the hospital for indiscriminate access, without the knowledge of the administration of the QEH and by extension without the knowledge the consultants.
According to James, previously patients just turned up at the hospital with various kinds of condition and in some cases the consultants were not aware that these patients were coming to Barbados.
James said a policy was therefore made to temporarily suspend admitting patients until we were able to review and revise the policy.
"So the referral guidelines for the transfer of patients is now more structured and what obtains now is, if a consultant in an overseas country wishes to transfer a patient for care, he or she will contact our consultant here at the QEH.They would have dicussions as to whether our consultant can admit and treat the patient. Once that decision is taken, the consultant at the QEH would request permission to admit the patient.
James said the funds must be dposited before the patient is transferred.
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