Medical Services Compromised by Loss of Health Workers
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200 healthcare workers removal impacts medical services in the country
Minister of Health Duane Sands said medical care in the country is negatively impacted with the recent quarantine of healthcare workers exposed to the coronavirus.
He said at a press conference on Thursday, that some medical services are “decimated.”
“There are other services where almost entire teams are wiped out because persons have been sent home.”
Sands emphasized that not every one sent home had a high risk exposure, but the officials used the World Health Organization’s risk stratification to determine which health worker sustained high risk, medium risk and low risk.
“We expect that when that assessment is done, that a number of persons will be able to safely return to work at the Princess Margaret Hospital and Sandilands Rehabilitation Center.
“But the initial default position is that everybody who could potentially have been exposed go home, then methodically it is determined who needs to come back, which patients get tested first so that we can to maintain a safe clinical environment,” he said.
However, Medical Chief of Staff at PMH Dr. Caroline Burnett-Garraway said the hospital is doing its best to mitigate the situation to have adequate clinical coverage.
She said the hospital prepared for the surge in cases and had stopped elective services.
Dr. Burnett-Garraway said the hospital is coping while providing adequate services.
Sands confirmed that nearly 200 healthcare workers were quarantined due to recent exposure to the virus after a patient from the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre from Robert-Smith Unit was referred to the Princess Margaret Hospital for medical management.
As health officials confirm 72 COVID-19 cases, Sands said 15 of the cases are healthcare workers.
