PMH and Doctor’s Hospital patient transfer to cost $2 mil.

PMH and Doctor’s Hospital patient transfer to cost $2 mil.
Princess Margaret Hospital

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Princess Margaret Hospital patients from the Medical Block will be transferred to Doctor’s Hospital on Blake Road in a $2 million deal as major upgrades are set to begin tomorrow at the aging public facility.

Minister of Health Dr. Michael Darville yesterday said the upgrades will take about 14 weeks to complete.

“Effective Monday, we will start the process and get our contractors here at the Princess Margret Hospital to improve the delivery of quality healthcare services at the Princess Margret Hospital,” Darville said.

“We estimate the 14-week negotiated cost factors will be somewhere between $2 million to $2.5 million, which we believe is very reasonable when we take into consideration the cost of managing the same patient room here at the Princess Margaret Hospital for that.”

Darville underscored the aging state of the only public tertiary healthcare facility in the capital necessitated the repairs amid ongoing plans for additional healthcare facilities.

The negotiation process with Doctor’s Hospital lasted months, Darville said.

“The discounted rate fluctuates in some instances it can go as high as 50 percent in some instances and 30 percent because while the patient is at Doctor’s Hospital, we will have to be able to do lab tests, diagnostic tests and a variety of other tests,” he said.

“And so the overall package we felt was very reasonable when we compare what we paid for the services here at the Princess Margaret Hospital. […] We’re satisfied with the rates that we currently have, the details fluctuate, so it is difficult for me to tell you exactly every detail.

“But the rates are discounted and we are very appreciative. This work that we’re doing here at the Princess Margaret Hospital is absolutely essential. We cannot repair wards with patients on the wards.”

The health minister said that the major agreement will allow for the transfer of patients from PMH to Doctor’s Hospital and when completed the patents and their files will be returned to the public hospital.

“With respect to the care of patients transferred to Doctors Hospital West, I commend the doctors for coming into agreement with these essential discounted rates for public patients. It is a collaborative effort with clinicians, health care executives, legal advisers, EMS leadership, and financial officers in order for this particular initiative to be successful,” Darville said.

Officials said key infrastructure will be replaced or installed including; elevators, the repair of track systems remediation work, improving the emergency department mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and a purpose-built, multi-functional, modular, infectious disease unit for the provision of care for all infectious diseases, requiring isolation, and negative pressure.

Public Hospital’s Authority Managing Director Aubynette Rolle said Doctor’s Hospital was the only option in the search to find an appropriate facility to assist with patient and staff accommodations.

Rolle added that patients in the medical block or those with hypertension, diabetes, or non-communicable diseases, will be the ones impacted by the transfer.

The PHA managing director said that the nation’s premier referral hospital, PMH has been in operation since its original construction in 1952.

After the project is complete PMH would have a total of 90 beds.

Rolle said this capacity has not been available for years, with a controlled environment for infectious diseases. She added that the 90 beds will help with the backup of surgical cases without having to remove patients out of available beds to accommodate others.

“We can now look at those patients who have been working, awaiting waiting surgeries and orthopedic surgeries and other surgeries that they could not have, and so it’s compounded,” she said.

“What you have now is an emergency room that is full right up to the nurse’s station, and we can’t do any work for the patients.”

“[…] At the end of the day, the Bahamian people will experience our nation’s largest hospital with improved infrastructure and strengthened services to meet our patient’s need for the years to come.”