jamarchSeveral new measures are to be implemented at the Bellevue Hospital to ensure that the facility provides the most effective service and care to its patients.
Chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), Lyttleton Shirley, said that among the measures are: the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer and board of management; improvement in infrastructure to ensure effective patient care delivery; and amalgamation of the hospital’s transport department with that of SERHA.
There will also be assessment of the existing management contract services such as security, food services, cleaning and portering; identification and assessment of in-house services to determine possible options for outsourcing; training and development of staff; and strengthening of purchasing and inventory management controls and financial management.
“It is expected that these new changes will create the necessary environment within which we will be able to provide optimum health care for our mentally challenged patients,” Mr. Shirley said, as he addressed a recent handing over ceremony at the hospital’s premises in South East Kingston.
Mr. Shirley said SERHA and the Ministry of Health are committed to ensuring Bellevue provides the most effective service in the delivery of acute and chronic care.
Currently, there are approximately 800 patients for whom medical, nursing and rehabilitative services are provided in a clean and safe environment, aimed at returning the patients to functioning levels in their community within the shortest possible time.
The Bellevue Hospital is a 900-bed specialist hospital located at 16½ Windward Road, with 26 wards spreading over a vast property. The hospital is the largest psychiatric facility in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Media Writer
