EFFORTS ARE BEING MADE to place the island’s ambulances at a number of temporary locations after their home base was flooded out during Sundays’ heavy rains.
Chief executive officer of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Dr Dexter James, told the DAILY NATION that due to torrential rains about 90 per cent of the ambulances’ home, the Nightengale Home building along Martindale’s Road, St Michael, was under water.
“Therefore we are taking emergency measures to maintain the services provided by the ambulance service, and we are viewing the options we have in that regard. The first option is to use the Glendairy Prison and approval has been given but it is not final. The other option is that we are having discussions with the Barbados Fire Service to see if they have space for at least two ambulances,” said James.
He said, however, one of the ambulances had already been dispatched to the Arch Hall, St Thomas fire station, and for the time being about five of them would be operating from the hospital’s Enmore site.
The QEH has a fleet of eight ambulances.The CEO said that within another six weeks the former home of the Ministry of Health should be restored and all the ambulances would be housed there. Extensive work on that Jemmotts Lane location started about three weeks ago.
“The entire ground floor is to be upgraded, retrofitted and configured. The completion of that building would affect development. We are at the stage now where we are implementing a development programme in a way that would improve response time,” he said.T
he emergency 511 number remains in operation.
