Emergency surgery only at South hospital
A shortage of nursing staff has been blamed for the cancellation of elective surgeries at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH). In a media release, the Medical Professionals Association of TT (MPATT) stated that due to the limited nursing staff, and to prevent possible "harm" to surgical patients, only emergency surgeries will be performed. "MPATT has also learnt that as a direct result of the severe shortage of nurses, the post-operative wards at the SFGH cannot provide the acceptably safe standard of care that our post-operative patients deserve," MPATT stated. "This intolerable nursing staff shortage is also based on the inability of the SWRHA to attract and retain nurses due to remuneration issues," the association stated. The release, which was signed by MPATT assistant secretary, Dr Rajendra Persad, also noted the hospital’s outpatient pharmacy department had been closed for the past two months due to a shortage of pharmacists. The association noted that, as with the nursing staff shortage, the inability to attract suitably qualified pharmacists was also based on the poor remuneration packages being offered by the SWRHA. MPATT observed that outpatients had been forced to use the "limited" CDAP progamme, or "purchase their much needed lifesaving medications." "These two crises at the SFGH clearly underscore the inability of the RHA to provide the level of healthcare that our population deserves and expects. Both situations stem from the unwillingness to suitably fund the healthcare system, and emphasise MPATT’s arguments for increased healthcare spending," the association stated. Efforts to contact senior SWRHA officials proved futile.
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"Emergency surgery only at South hospital"