Hospital housing 20 patients who should have been discharged
Chairman of the BVI Health Services Authority (BVIHSA), Moleto Smith has revealed that there are nearly two dozen long-term patients who have taken up residence at the Dr D Orlando Smith Hospital.
Smith referred to these patients as “boarders” and said providing them with long-term care has contributed to the ongoing financial strain at the state-owned healthcare facility.
“Many don’t know that there’s about 20 boarders here at the hospital. The hospital is not a nursing home. But we now have to carry 24-hour around-the-clock care for individuals who should have been discharged,” Smith said yesterday while speaking about the hospital’s financial problems at a press conference hosted by the BVIHSA.
One member of the media asked Smith to state whether the BVIHSA is experiencing a financial crisis. And in trying to respond, Smith fumbled at first, but eventually stated that the Authority has been experiencing financial strain since its inception. However, he said this won’t stop them from delivering vital healthcare services to the public.
“If we talk about the financial strain on the Health Services Authority, it’s been at a crisis level for some time — from its beginning. So I wouldn’t draw an alarm like services won’t be delivered or people will be fired or anything like that. But we as a board won’t kick the can down the road or abdicate our fiduciary responsibility to do those things that are within our remit to do,” Smith explained.
He added that there are many reasons for the financial strain at the BVIHSA, including the challenge leaders are facing with balancing the delivery of service with the revenue that the Authority receives.
Despite Smith’s explanation, the member of the media continued to press him about the matter of financial constraint. Smith was asked to explain why some healthcare workers complained about unpaid salaries earlier this year.
“I would say this, I think I’ve been very clear about our financial strains but all of our stakeholders have been working diligently in supporting us around that. There are some under-current things we have to do to improve the financial sustainability of health services and healthcare overall in the BVI,” Smith explained.
Copyright 2024 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
Mr.smith come on you no you lie you all working we like dog people can’t make end meet with the little money u all paying if people have qualification we getting on the little salary $24 come on man we or sick of you all now come talk to we and see how we feeling and we don’t want talk to you and no lie managers
BS! If y’all would stop theifing the money, and putting in overtime when y’all don’t even work weekends, and do what is needed for the hospital and pay the staff their proper salary, you would have staff who is willing to work so things can run smoothly!
And not staff who doesn’t want to come to work or staff resigning because of the BS BVIHSA has been doing to them. It’s time they change up the board and those in Finance! One minute the pay is how it should, next minute it’s way below!
And instead of laying off those who were hired as COVID Agents, train them! You lack so many help in the hospital! Much less VG I heard! Learn to improvise and train from going out hiring moreee and use who you have on board already!
boarders in this large building reads like the hospital is becoming a nursing home. Why have these hospital boarders not been moved to the Adina Donovan Senior Center on Main Street?
I guess that financial constraints are what allows you to let private businesses come in and do bodies in your facility while still getting paid. Under your watch ethics are a forgotten practice
Their children take what they have and abandoned them . If Smith is honest he know all the boarders .. if it was immigrants who became belongers the would have post haste them at the Donovan home . Wicked children abandon parents … Some of the parents abuse the children mothers
where in the Adina are they going to fit its the same situation there, people need to come and take them family members, when you call they never able too but want to live in them house with them kids.
Doesn’t anyone see the need for a proper nursing home can can house at least 150 persons? Dear Lord, what is it going to take. What about the home they were about to start in Spooners? Money was already expended for that project. Come on Mr. Health Minister and whomever else this applies to? Do your research and let’s get back on track with this project before the end of the first quarter in 2023.
This is utter madness now!!!!!!!
Didn’t his son drop him off somewhere close by???
The old people home is filled with people from the 7th district even to …
But surely if the “Boarders” need 24 hour care, the hospital is the only place they can get it?
The nurses working 12hrs a day and only getting pay for 8 that a shame on the hospital
There is no space at ADH to house them…. Still waiting on the new ADH home to be built in Spooners
I’m quite sure your country of birth is of no exception.
For the record there’s only perhaps less than a third from district #7/8 occupying the home.besides district 7/8 combined is the largest districts in the territory. Besides there’s not as many persons at the home. The number has declined half as much.
You need to finish school posting like that. I couldn’t read this MS!
No space. It done full!
Even our *** has his father in the home so who making space for who. might as well start euthanasia. because everything these old people had they children done take from them. just saying
Nurses and all staff at the home working 12 hour shifts with no overtime – at a government institution at that. what do you call that. slave trade still on and going in this beautiful paradise
Why they putting up with that? Nobody cant work me for 12hrs and only pay me for 8…surely that’s not what the employment contract said. I would be on the next flight back home, at their expense thanks to the bond paid at immigration. Sounds like the hospital staff don’t mind suffering for the USD. Put up or shut up.
With social security spending our money on buying land every year.surely they can give the hospital couple mill.
Oh please! Anyone with half a brain can clearly see that the tax payers much envied state of the art facility is fast becoming the ACREDITED dumping ground for the terminally ill and the uninsured.
What a shame that this practice was allowed to continue on into this facility. There is away to take care of the problem. It is done in some places. There’s an ambulance service and there is the address of the culpable relatives. Take or send them/boarders home. Let them hire caretakers to assist. Red Cross continues to train personnel to provide this type of care. Social Services also assist where possible and necessary.
You heartless families, your day will come when you would like the best of care in your declining years. Karma is a bi…ch.
The spooners home for the elderly has now spanned over 4 terms of government.
One government bought the land from cronies.
The other government argued it out of existence, saying spooners was not fit for it. But they never found an alternative place, just used arguing against it to be elected.
Those who bought it got back in and did the foundation.
They got back in again and I guess the bids were coming in too high. So it never moved again.
Well now we went from VIP to Unity and you don’t hear anything about it now.
But if you think Tola own is bad you should see up VG. These elected persons don’t care about the people. Only about getting elected and re-elected.
“One member of the media asked Smith to state whether the BVIHSA is experiencing a financial crisis. And in trying to respond, Smith fumbled at first”
The sometimes full of $hitt MEDIA always trying to make public officials look bad.
What I notice is bvi people do not look for their love ones at all they only take what they have. And it has been like that for years soon as there mother and father or any love one sick they grab all they own and leave them in the homes.ir leave them to hang for dry
Vex all are you want is the gospel truth
It is not a lie ,the hospital is a dumpster for people who have house even on rent ,there relative dump them there and when they call to tell the relatives they are discharged they say they are not responsible ,the government is to be blame, they most come up with a legislation and turn over the social security money to the hospital and you will see how fast they remove these people staff even have to be buying bath soap ,skin oil wash rug for these patient it’s a shame and I hear most time when these relative do come they find all kind of fault if so the have no shame
When all you bawling that Spooners too cold for the elderly and all kinds of nonsense? No wonder these politicians not getting the job done.
Publish their names and their closest relatives. Locals are putting their elderly in there at the cost to all of us. Typical BVI…
The true revelation of a financially strained business with top executives milking the bull but crying the auditor foul. Do not blame the people for not taking home a person that high level medical incompetence created. I fresh off a story of incompetence from head to toe. They lie to the people and if you don’t better you will say no matter. I agree with a fresh slate in healthcare scrap all from the beard through and through.
Move them to Adina, where there is no space? As far as I understand, a lot of the persons at the Adina Donovan home don’t need to be there because their families can actually afford to pay someone to take care of them but of course they prefer to leech off of the government. I can easily see how persons are left at the hospital even when they are discharged. Some persons have no one to watch their loved ones when they are discharged. At least at the hospital, they have somebody to watch them. Imagine working and leaving your sick family member at home alone, some who can’t event take care of themselves. I speak from experience, there was 3 of us looking after one individual and it was HARD juggling our time, as 1 we couldn’t afford to pay someone to look after her, find time during our day (because we each worked) to look in on her and make sure she was OK. I would say if you’re leaving your family there just because you don’t want to DEAL with them, you should do better.
Spooner is too cold
Nice view but out of the way for old friends to visit. The healthcare system needs better management. Health care at home requires people overcoming their fears. After my experience this weekend they have to go back to the planning board. Talk less and work more. Smith and all board losers should observe the process.