The Respiratory Hospital has a bed capacity of 130, out of which 15 beds are allotted to ICUcare. Patients with respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19, TB, Asthma, etc are treated at the hospital
During the 4th wave, the hospital received 826 patients, out of which 80% were discharged. During this current wave which started on December 16, 2021 to present, we have admitted 383 patientsthus far and we see a similar trend of patient recovery of over 80%. Unlike the 4th wave, we have less patients requiring ICU care. Most patients have other conditions such as a fractured hip, pregnancy and are admitted on the general wards or seen in A&E. The A&E Department is very active with patients presenting with flu-like symptoms. However, most are treated and sent home to isolate while others are admitted with co-morbidities. During this 5th wave, we opened a swabbing clinic to provide additional support to the Ministry of Health testing service.
It is not a service we normally provide, because it is done at the primary care level. However, many persons were presenting at the hospital for testing and we could not turn them away. We hope to continue our outpatient medical clinic soon so we can follow-up on patients post discharge to see if they have any complications post COVID-19 and for us to get a better understanding of how COVID-19 is impacting our people for decision making. Physiotherapy outpatient clinic will continue for lung rehabilitation post COVID-19 infection. The majority of deceased patients in the 4th wave were unvaccinated.
We note that persons are fearful and apprehensive to come to the hospital when they are very ill. Some people die on the way to the hospital, others die on arrival and some are rushed to ICU with serious life threatening conditions. Given some of the concerns from the public, the management team of the Respiratory Hospital have taken targeted steps to improve its services. For example, patients can now call and speak to their families via social media because of our improved telecommunication and robust Wi-Fi system. The physicians can now give regular updates to the next of kin.
We also offer a drop off service and we encourage families to drop off items at 7am, 12 noon and 5pm. Please do not bring bulky and large items because there is limited space in the patient room and the clinical team needs uninterrupted access to the patient in the event of an emergency. Some of the recommended items are: two weeks of clothing, toiletries, face masks, water, tea, milk, sugar, mosquitorepellent, healthy snacks, etc. We ensure that all patients are cared for.
We provide free water andtoilet paper for all patients as well as toiletries and bath towel for patients who are in need of these items. We have introduced a new cadre of staff called patient welfare assistants who serves as the liaisonbetween the family and the patient providing much relieve to families by managing patients ancillaryneeds such as ensuring that they get the dropped off items, bedside care, logistics tor outside for external services (lab, CT scans).
We at the Respiratory Hospital want to thank those family members who served as next of kinfor ourpatients. We need you to further assist by:
1. Providing us with your correct contact number (1 or 2 numbers if possible). In that way, wehaveless challenges in contacting the family to give updates.
2. Having family and/or patient to agree on who is the Next of Kin. We expect the Next of Kintorelay to the other family members on the updates they receive from the physicians.
3. Bring in a copy of the patient’s ID card. It could be emailed, or sent via WhatsApptotheRespiratory Hospital.
The Government of Saint Lucia has invested significantly in this facility. We continue to strive toprovideproper health care to the Saint Lucian population, and we need you to assist us by doing your part.
