Efforts to improve conditions at the Dialysis Unit at the Princess Margret Hospital are  ongoing and according to Health Minister Dr. Duane Sands,  improvements have been made in the ratio of patients to staff. 

Dr. Sands  noted that new equipment  and upgrades are also on the way for the Dialysis Unit.

“Certainly, things are more manageable now than they have been. We expect the delivery of all new dialysis chairs, a number of new dialysis machines and also to move the dialysis unit to a newly renovated facility,” he said.    

Dr. Sands did not provide a timeline for the move of the Dialysis Unit,  adding that it all depends on successfully locating a new location.

“The timing of that is dependent upon the identification of an appropriate site signed off at all of the levels from concept to construction or renovation and then the transition. 

“However, having just visited the dialysis unit myself several weeks ago and speaking with the nurse in charge and a number of patients by the way, certainly things are moving in the right direction,” the Minister said.  

His comments came after patients who have long decried the slow rate of service in the Dialysis Unit and a shortage in equipment.

Since  then Public Hospital Authority Foundation Chairman Dr. Richard Demeritte asserted that the foundation will then be donating new beds to that unit. 

When asked if there would be enough nurses to man the new dialysis beds to be donated Dr. Sands said, “we’ve spoken about the challenges of dialysis nurses, emergency room nurses, ICU nurses, NICU nurses and operating theatre nurses. 

“This is an ongoing challenge in part because nurses  have left the jurisdiction for other countries,  but they have also left the public sector for private sector locally.

“So, we are constantly recruiting new nurses, we are constantly training new nurses. The public sector trains nearly 80 registered nurses and trained clinical nurses per year,” Dr. Sands said.