Responses given by the minister for health and social development, Honourable Ronnie W. Skelton to questions asked by the member for the third district at the sixth sitting of the second session of the house of assembly on February 12, 2013

Question 1
Madam Speaker, could the Minister for Health and Social Development please tell this Honourable House:

a) where his Ministry and the Health Authority currently stand in their efforts to effectively staff the new Peebles Hospital?

b) what the required complement of professional staffing will be, broken down by specialty, such as Nurses, Doctors, etc. and

c) how many of these professionals currently exist in the current Hospital?

Answer 1

(a) Madam Speaker, the BVI Health Services Authority has developed a Clinical Services Plan to be used as a guide for the commissioning of the New Peebles Hospital; along with a Staffing Strategy.

(b) Additionally, work is currently ongoing to finalise a comprehensive Hospital Transition Plan; among other relevant documents.

The Ministry of Health is also working to strengthen collaboration with the Ministry of Education, and other relevant agencies, to ensure that the appropriate numbers of persons are trained in specific and specialized fields to meet the projected workforce requirements of the health sector, to the extent possible. In recent years, priority has been given to scholarship applicants seeking to pursue careers in the health field, and this approach
has borne fruit.

Madam Speaker, efforts are underway to re-train and re-tool our existing staff to meet changing job requirements; as well as to recruit appropriately qualified health professionals in order to reduce immediate shortages.

The Staffing Strategy previously mentioned provides the framework to ensure that the Authority’s hiring, training, retention, and deployment decisions are aligned to the future needs of the New Peebles Hospital.

(b) Madam Speaker, it is anticipated that a phased, sequential opening of programmes and services will be undertaken for the New Peebles Hospital over a period of time. Once all clinical services are fully developed and implemented as outlined in the current Plan, the overall level of staffing required is projected to be as follows:

Medical Doctors* 32
Nursing Staff 204
Allied Health Practitioners 65

(c) Madam Speaker the complement of staff in the mentioned categories currently stands at:
Medical Doctors* 33
Nursing Staff** 110

Allied Health Practitioners 43 (*It is also important to note that some of the recently trained Medical Officers will be required to specialize in select areas, such as Family Medicine.

Several new doctors will also be deployed to Community Health Services for expanded services and extended operating hours in poly-clinics.)

**includes Registered Nurses and Registered Nurses Midwives (79), Unit Managers (11) and Nursing Assistants (20)

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