Overseas treatment may be needed; hospital says delay is unrelated to ongoing capacity problems
Overseas & file photos
Scheduled chemotherapy sessions have been postponed this week after the hospital’s two oncology nurses became unavailable.
One cancer patient affected told us that they had not yet been given a subsequent date for a chemo session.
Judy Richardson, Chief of Nursing at the hospital, said a significant number of chemotherapy treatments have been delayed, and they hope to resume normal services in about a month.
Nurse Richardson advised that critical patients will be supported in seeking overseas care, and new oncology patients will be referred overseas until chemotherapy nurses are on island.
She said formal recruitment for chemotherapy nurses is ongoing, and one nurse is currently in training.
The Bermuda Hospitals Board has advised that the oncology staffing issue is not related to capacity issues that have put a strain on other hospital staff and resources. It is specifically because the two chemotherapy nurses, who are close to retirement, are unable to work for unrelated and personal reasons.
The hospital moved to alert level three yesterday due to overcrowding. At one point there were 40 patients medically fit for discharge still in hospital, while 34 patients were waiting for beds.
Nurses aids temporarily downed tools in the face of the mounting pressure
BHB Press Release below:
Bermuda Hospitals Board today explained what is being done to stabilise oncology services following its two chemotherapy nurses being unable to work for unrelated and personal reasons.
Chemotherapy nurses are specialist nurses who are trained to give chemotherapy treatments to cancer patients. BHB has two nurses, with an additional nurse who is currently in training and still requires supervision. Recruitment has begun for additional chemotherapy nurses as the two nurses, who have provided an amazing service for many years, are close to retirement.
Chief of Nursing, Judy Richardson comments: “The sudden impact of our situation was only known on Monday. We have reached out to local partners, all of our clinical partners and nurse agencies to bring new resources to the island as soon as possible. Everyone in the oncology team is working to provide as much coverage as possible, but a significant number of chemotherapy treatments have been delayed. Patients for whom any delay in treatment will impact their outcomes, or those who have complex or specialised therapies that require chemotherapy nurse skills, will be supported in seeking overseas care. While we hope we can resume normal services in about a month, new oncology patients will also be referred overseas until we have chemotherapy nurses on island.
“We are so sorry for this impact, especially as we had just completed recruitment to fill our oncologist roles. The formal recruitment for chemotherapy nurses is ongoing with a sustainable training plan being developed with overseas affiliates. We are also exploring the recruitment of locum nurses as temporary resources as they can be organised more quickly.
“We will provide an update to the community as soon as we have secured locum resources,” Mrs Richardson adds.
