Ben Smith On Hospital, Investigation & More
“Will the promised independent investigation into systemic inadequacies at the hospital consider patients who may have suffered harm or loss of life through hospital failures,” asked Opposition Leader Ben Smith.
Mr Smith said, “Former Chief of Emergency Services Dr Edward Schultz, who served Bermuda for three decades and recently submitted a comprehensive report to the Ministry of Health and the Bermuda Hospitals Board, warned that overcrowding, patient boarding, and bed shortages at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital create conditions that can lead to adverse outcomes and even death.
“Can the Minister of Health assure the public that no patient has suffered serious harm or loss of life as a result of the systemic failures identified in Dr Schultz’s report? I asked the Premier recently on the floor of the House of Assembly and received no tangible response.
“My questions to the Premier were not about politics. The issue here is patient safety.
“If the identified failures at the hospital contributed to patient harm, then the public deserves answers, and the Government has a responsibility to ensure all concerns are independently examined, with outcomes communicated to the public – including patient families.
“Healthcare is ultimately about people, not statistics. Bermudians deserve transparency, accountability, and confidence in the medical care we receive. The people of Bermuda have been frustrated for years about hospital overcrowding. This frustration existed well before the insightful report from Dr Schulz.
“Dr. Schultz’s public communications have belatedly triggered some government action. But unless the independent investigation includes prior patient harm, the Government’s response gives no comfort to people impacted by the hospital failures. The issue of patient harm requires urgent independent intervention with public transparency.
“The public must have confidence in our hospital. Recent efforts to improve ongoing care is welcome. But if patient harm has already occurred, action must be taken, with the independent investigation having the scope to consider it.”
