BDF Field Medical Facility Expands QEH
Accident and Emergency Unit
BDF Media Release| 20 Apr 20
Photography credit: Private Kyle Straker
As part of Operation Trident Shield, the Barbados Defence Force’s (BDF) contribution to the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a second element of the Field Medical Facility (FMF) has been set up at Jemmott’s Lane as a Respiratory Short-Stay Unit (RSSU). The RSSU is an annex to the QEH Accident and Emergency Department and is located next to the UWI Clinical Skills Building. The role of the FMF RSSU is twofold: (1) to improve the efficiency of medical care delivered by the MHW and (2) to provide targeted care for patients requiring brief treatment and dischargeable as soon as clinical conditions are managed. The first element of the FMF has been deployed at Paragon Base Campsite as a swabbing test centre since 23 March 2020.
During a tour of the RSSU with Chief of Staff BDF Colonel Glyne Grannum, QEH Emergency Services consultant Dr David Byer; Minister of Health and Wellness, the Honourable Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Bostic, expressed his satisfaction at the BDF’s efficiency in deploying the FMF as an essential service for the overall healthcare of Barbadians. The visit also observed key personnel and facility staff engaging in training for the correct methods for donning and doffing personal protective equipment, in-processing of patients, sanitization techniques and other medical procedures.
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Dr Byer further stated that the set-up of the Field Medical Facility was mainly for persons who present with mild symptoms and require general testing. The facility will be ready to accommodate patients who have been referred from the main Accident and Emergency Unit at the QEH from Monday 20 April 2020.
The BDF FMF Coordinator, Major Junior Browne, indicated that this current set-up can accommodate a maximum of 20 patients as it is dual-purposed in reducing the density at the A&E Department. He went on to explain that the facility will be manned by QEH medical and auxiliary staff, Cuban Volunteer Nurses and BDF personnel.