(Trinidad Guardian) The investigative committee appointed by the Prime Minister to report on COVID-19 patient care and outcomes has given the parallel healthcare system a passing grade. However, it raised concerns about staff shortages and burnout.
“We found that the admissions, discharge and transfer policies for COVID-19 patients are within the ambit of international best practice especially as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO),” the report said.
It added: “We found that the implementation of the policies during the Pandemic were hampered by unpredictable staff shortages and staff burn-out. We recommend that close attention needs to be paid to staff morale as well as purchases of some consumables.”
The 105-page report ended by listing 16 recommendations for improvement. These included a formal survey of COVID-19 patients’ relatives; procuring more Tocilizumab; improving temporary accommodations for patients; more empathy from staff to patients; more emphasis on patient communication to families; and a need for early intervention and prevention of non-communicable diseases, among others.
The committee was headed by the University of the West Indies’ Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Professor Terence Seemungal. The other members of the committee are the former dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences Prof Emerita Phyllis Pitt-Miller, public health specialist Dr Anton Cumberbatch, consultant anaesthetist and intensive care specialist Dr Vidya Dean and Director of the Caribbean Centre for Health Systems, Research and Development, Faculty of Medical Sciences Prof Donald Simeon.
