WITH three departments of the Victoria Hospitals Renal, Physiotherapy and Outpatient now transitioned to the Owen King EU Hospital (OKEUH) other departments and units are gearing up to do the same.
“In the transitioning efforts to the Owen King EU Hospital it was recognized that apart from the construction and the physical bits, there was need for training so that the standard of care that is delivered would be in sync with what is within this new facility. So the government of St. Lucia made an arrangement with the University Hospital of Martinique for training in a number of areas and intensive care nursing was one of these areas,” said Victoria Hospital Nursing Director Ruth Regis-Adesanya.
She said that two previous components of ICU training were conducted at the University Hospital in 2016 and 2017 with up to 12 nurses benefiting from intensive ICU training.
“And today we have the third component of that training. So it has been aprogramme that has been ongoing, ensuring the development of our staff and the capacity building to be able to function more effectively within the Owen King EU Hospital and at Victoria Hospital, as we continue to provide service from there,” she said.
ICU Consultant at the University Hospital in Martinique, Dr. DaborResiere said for the past ten years his hospital has been engaged in a programme of medical cooperation with St. Lucia and Dominica to offer the best in medical care in the area of ICU.
“We think that nurses here have a good level of education and what we try to do is to bring new innovations in ICU training, with more new procedures in order to harmonize the management of our patients. Whether you’re in Martinique or St. Lucia we want to harmonize the management of our patients,” he said.
Ward Manger in the Intensive Care Unit at VH, Nurse NataliePreville benefited from the previous training opportunities in Martinique. She had high praise for the level of training received and is convinced that it will benefit clients of the ICU.
Dr. Resiere and the University Hospital came in for high praise for the level of cooperation and training provided to both nurses and physicians and for assisting with the setting up the required systems at the OKEU Hospital.