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From infection control issues, to legionella risk, crowded spaces and temperature issues...the Health Minister has laid bare the state of Jersey's "deteriorating" hospital, warning that it will be a "significant clinical risk" in five years' time.
In an impassioned speech in the States Assembly yesterday, Deputy Richard Renouf cited a lack of air conditioning, "inadequate" plumbing systems, a limited amount of rooms and storage, and unsuitable staff rest facilities as just some of the deficiencies with the current Gloucester Street premises.
"Members know about the concrete degradation, they know about the plumbing system and the drains under the site which are inadequate and in poor condition, where overflows occur and contaminate clinical areas," Deputy Renouf said in yesterday morning's debate on the Westmount Road access plan.
"We know about the water systems which need intensive and expensive efforts to avoid legionella risks."
He continued: "The roof of the granite block needs replacing as we saw when parts blew off last winter – the windows in wards are single glazed and those wards don’t have air conditioning. You can shiver next to the windows in winter, and if you are patient when the summer sun is burning through, well we’ll regularly supply you with ice creams and ice lollies in an effort to make you cool.
"Our staff work hard to make patient and visitor experience a good one, but there’s often a serious impact on patients; our hospital has been developed in a piecemeal way – there’s significant challenge regarding patient flow and clinical adjacencies that do not support the most efficient and effective medical practice that has obvious consequences for patient care."
Pictured: The Health Minister quoted a letter from Chief Medical Officer, Dr Patrick Armstrong, describing the current hospital as "inadequate."
On the impact of covid, the Minister noted that the hospital's infection control procedures were limited by the fact that "there are just not enough single rooms, and we can’t create more – this has hit us particularly during covid, but also when other viruses are around such as norovirus."
"We have to use single rooms to isolate patients and control the spread of the infection. The result of that inadvertently is that some patients pass away in wards – that’s distressing hugely for them, distressing for their families, in a narrow space between a plastic curtain and the patient’s bed," he said.
Deputy Renouf added that: "Covid 19 has highlighted infection control issues we have in our buildings – our emergency departments in many wards are small, and space for patients is confined. Storage is lacking, and it’s difficult for our staff to manage resources effectively. There are departments where you can walk in and you can’t see any surface which is not covered in equipment – computers are next to sinks because there’s nowhere else to put them."
Pictured: The Health Minister said the current hospital was having a negative impact on the staff working there, who he said were managing to make it still into a "positive" and "inspirational" place despite the odds.
The Health Minister also pointed out the lack of facilities for staff, noting that, "the rest facilities in wards are non-existent unless we count a few uncomfortable chairs outside the lifts or in corridors.
"The canteen has been closed during covid, the chapel has been converted into space for the staff to reflect and talk, to refresh themselves in these pandemic times. But still it’s not unusual to see staff sitting on the stairs to eat their sandwiches.
"Junior doctors who are on the frontline of care working long shifts don’t even have a doctor’s mess, something that’s unheard of in modern healthcare."
He pointed to a letter from the Government's Chief Medical Officer, Patrick Armstrong, to support his claims, which describes the current hospital as "a failing and inadequate facility," and outlining the "significant infection control risks that the current estate creates which can never be mitigated to the extent that a new facility can achieve."
In the letter, Mr Armstrong listed the following reasons to move from the new hospital before 2026.
Mr Armstrong closed the letter with a plea he said represented the thoughts of the medical profession collectively in the island: "I believe it is only fair to my fellow healthcare workers that I highlight our concerns to you on their behalf and seek assurance that we will not be held to account for the harm that I have described above that will almost inevitably occur as a result of the continued use of a facility that is already well beyond its reasonable life.
"I have taken opinion from my Deputy and Associate Medical Directors in addition to the most recent Chair of the Medical Staff Committee who have as a group endorsed my view."
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