Dr Ed Shultz, a veteran of front line emergency care, cites dangers and offers solutions to a ‘worsening’ problem
We are facing a worsening healthcare crisis that puts lives at risk – and the hospital is not doing enough to prevent it.
This is the position of 30-year veteran of emergency care in Bermuda, former hospital Chief of Emergency, Dr Edward Shultz. (READ his letter below, WATCH his comments above)
Going public with his concerns for the first time today, he cites poor building design and inadequate planning for an aging population as factors that have led to near-constant overcrowding at the hospital.
Admitted patients are remaining in emergency when they should be transferred to wards, while patients fit for discharge are blocking beds.
He says Government must provide more funding to enable the necessary level of care, but he praises their commitment to providing better aftercare in the community for exiting patients.
However, he says it’s the hospital itself that is failing to take immediate on-site measures which could relieve the burden on emergency staff, and reduce the risk to patients.
Ultimately, Dr Shultz is calling for an independent, non-partisan commission of enquiry into Emergency Care in Bermuda.
Dr Shultz notes that this is not on the emergency staff, who he says are doing a stellar job trying to manage a terrible situation.
Dr Shultz lays out a number of potential solutions…
He calls on Government to adjust the cap on financial support for the hospital that was implemented in 2019, to, for example, help fund any necessary new staff to address overcrowding, and to create more nursing home beds in the community.
He acknowledges Government’s efforts in providing more community care, but notes that is a long-term solution.
It’s the hospital that must act now, he says, by creating a discharge lounge with a strict 24-hour collection policy, by converting available space to hold patients at ties of peak capacity, and – what he says would be the first thing he would do – boarding admitted patients on wards or overflow units.
WATCH the report above…
