THE PRESENT STATE of affairs at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital led Government to put a structure in place that would better manage the operations at the island's lone public hospital.

This was stated by Minister of Health Dr David Estwick in the House of Assembly yesterday as he introduced an amendment to the Hospital Bill which will enable him to appoint the members of the institution's board.

The new board will comprise 13 members with various skills and professional qualifications. It will include appointees from sectors such as accounting, engineering, finance, human resource management, industrial relations, information technology, law, general mangement operational skills, medicine, nursing and paramedical services.

Same level

In addition, Estwick also announced that the position of chief operating officer would be placed at the level of the chief executive officer and these two positions would also be operational above the tier of the various directors of services at the hospital.

Estwick said the previous composition which comprised three people appointed by the minister, one person nominated by the principal of the University of the West Indies, one person each nominated by the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners, the Barbados Registered Nurses Association, the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations, the Private Sector Agency, the Barbados Christian Council and the Barbados Association of Retired Persons "did not at all ensure that the objectives of section 5:3 of the principal act are obtained".

Estwick said Cabinet met on February 2 and agreed to the proposal of the amendment to allow the board's composition to have a broad set of skill sets that would allow it to effectively direct policy, to give authority and to give approvals that are necessary to restructure the hospital's general management.

"To this end I have considered that the hospital board should be reconfigured to allow for that representation which would achieve the stated objectives to serve the hospital and the people of Barbados," he said.

An improvement

Estwick also disclosed the establishment of clinical directorates, which he said would help improve the operational management structure, as well as the creation of a customer care department which would generate feedback from the public and an internal grievance department.

Furthermore, he said there were also plans for an advisory component made up of average citizens to assist the board.

"We believe that one of the problems with the present orientation is that too many elements of day to day operations are followed through a central point and unless that individual brings a tremendous number of management skills you get a bottleneck in the administration of the institution . . . ." (MB)