Safe Hospital Initiative in the Caribbean - St. Vincent

1
Safe Hospital Initiative in the Caribbean - St.
Vincent the Grenadines

• A Progress Report

2
The facility - The Milton Cato Memorial Hospital

• Capacity - 209 beds
• Location - in the capital, Kingstown
• Services - only public secondary health care
  facility with operating theater, radiological and
  laboratory services.
• Serves the entire population of SVG - 107,000.

3
Step 1

• January 2008 - Three persons from the MCMH were
  trained in Barbados in the Application of the
  Safe Hospital Index.
• The process served to provide the participants
  with a new and detailed way of assessing the
  vulnerabilities of their facility.
• On return to SVG, the team began to sensitize the
  Hospital management team about the process and to
  assess the facility.

4
Step 2

• March 2008 - One of the persons trained from SVG,
  traveled to Grenada to be part of a team which
  applied the Safe Hospital Index on the Grenada
  General Hospital.
• This exercise further served to
• - deepen the understanding of the process of
  assessment,
• -provide an opportunity to review another
  institutions disaster plans
• -provide solutions to common emergency planning
  problems.

5
Step 3

• April 2008 - the Safe Hospital Index was applied
  on the MCMH.
• Key issues reported
• Functional
• 1. EOC - required reconfiguration to improve
  functionality.
• 2. The inadequacy of the communication
  system.(The hospital/health services lack their
  own repeater.)
• 3. The lack of knowledge of the Hospital
  disaster plan by the general hospital staff.
  .

6
Step 3(continued)

• Functional continued
• 4. Need for detailed revision of the Hospital
  Disaster Master Plan, and the expansion of the
  plan to include departmental plans, a
  communication plan and specific hazards plans.
• 5. Absence of a Disaster/emergency contingency
  fund.

7
Step 3(continued)

• Nonstructural
• 1.The absence of a preventative maintenance
  system for equipment.
• 2.The change over time of the generator was too
  long. There is need for a UPS.
• 3.The water supply was insufficient to
  adequately serve the hospital in the event of a
  disaster.

8
Step 3(continued)

• Nonstructural continued
• 4. Equipment and gas cylinders were not secured.

9
Step 3(continued)

• Structural
• 1. The structural vulnerability of the
  facility.

10
Step 4

• May 2008 - A team from the MCMH attended the
  Hospital Emergency Planning Workshop in Barbados.
• A presentation was made on the evacuation of the
  MCMH in response to a bomb scare on March 2008.
  Valuable feed back was gained.
• Participants gained from the experiences of
  others and worked together on the preparation and
  preliminary revision of their plans.

11
Step 5

• June 2008 - The project manager visited MCMH to
  assist in the process of developing and updating
  the hospitals emergency plan.
• The manager met with departmental heads who had
  prepared departmental plans and advised them on
  the process of plan construction.
• Senior Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance
  and Planning officials where briefed on the
  findings of the survey, the stage of plan
  revision, and priorities and solutions were
  discussed.

12
Update

• June 2008 -
• A warehouse has been acquired and is being
  utilised to house the surplus equipment which was
  kept along the corridors of the hospital.
• An alternate facility is being sort to house the
  hospital in the event of the need to evacuate the
  entire facility. Evacuation plans are being
  developed.
• A new comprehensive communications system is
  being established (including cell telephone) and
  the intercom has been repaired .

13
Update (continued)

• CWSA is being consulted to advise on the
  expansion of our water storage capacity.
• Engineers are to conduct a detailed analysis of
  the structure to determine the exact extent of
  the problem.
• Hospital equipment and gas cylinders are being
  braced.

14
Update (continued)

• An assessment of the emergency power source has
  been completed and a consultant is in the process
  of making recommendations.
• The Hospital security system been improved.