A spike in respiratory illnesses is adding to the strain on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), health officials said, urging Barbadians to take precautions and seek medical attention early.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George said the increase in influenza cases was in keeping with the expected seasonal trend, but stressed that respiratory illnesses were only one of several factors contributing to the surge in patient numbers.
At a QEH press conference on Tuesday, Dr George said the Ministry of Health had been working with hospital officials to manage the situation.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George (SB)
He said: “We’ve been here before, but I think a lot of things came together.”
He cited uncontrolled non-communicable diseases, an ageing population and elderly patients remaining in hospital for extended periods as some of the contributing factors.
Officials have noticed a slight increase in respiratory illnesses, with influenza A, influenza B, rhinovirus and a few cases of COVID-19 detected, he said.
“Our flu season tends to correspond with flu seasons in [other] countries,” he said, cautioning that the hospital’s challenges were not solely related to respiratory infections.
He also pointed to road traffic accidents and severe trauma as contributing to the pressure on the healthcare system.
Dr George urged Barbadians to seek treatment from their primary care physicians, whether through private healthcare providers or public polyclinics, at the earliest stages of an illness.
“This makes a tremendous difference because if we are to intervene early in the course of an illness, you will have better outcomes.”
He also called on people living with non-communicable diseases to take greater responsibility for managing their conditions, emphasising the importance of weight loss, exercise and healthy diets.
“These are small little things that you can do personally to improve your well-being and to delay the onset of any issues like long-term hospital stays.”
The hospital’s director of clinical and diagnostic services, infectious disease specialist Dr Corey Forde, said the increase in flu cases presenting at the emergency department was consistent with trends being observed internationally.
He said: “The current surge or increasing numbers of influenza cases which are being seen in the emergency department, it’s [similar to] what’s going on globally.”
Dr Forde noted that the authorities in neighbouring St Vincent had also held a press conference on the issue, adding that the current increase was typical for this time of year.
But he said the hospital has been dealing with respiratory illnesses over the past four to six months, with the latest development being a general spike in patients seeking emergency care.
Dr Forde urged Barbadians to take particular care to protect vulnerable groups, including elderly people and young children, from respiratory infections.
He warned that while younger adults might manage illnesses more easily, older people and children were more likely to require hospital admission.
“The problem that we have is that those people in those groups also have their own individual challenges. We’re talking about the elderly. Whether it be the elderly in a nursing home, the elderly in the hospital, or the elderly in your own house.”
Dr Forde encouraged people who developed respiratory illnesses to take precautions around vulnerable relatives, particularly elderly family members who might be living at home.
“I think if you are at home and you have, you know, you’re sick, you went out partying maybe, you are having a good time, and you come back, and you have a respiratory illness, which can happen under any normal circumstance, protect that individual.”
He stressed that those being admitted to hospital were not typically young adults, but rather younger children and elderly people who often depended on others for care.
(SB)
