More health talk, but this time on the infrastructural development of the sector which InterHealth Canada TCI CEO, Daniel Carrier yesterday explained is not a privilege, but a right for residents of any country.
Carrier, in a one on one with Magnetic Media shared that there are not enough beds in Provo and too many in Grand Turk; Provo has 20 beds, Grand Turk with 10. Providenciales is running at 120% while GT is doing just half of that.
“Well that’s a good point, and as a matter of fact on our beds here in Provo, the utilization is such that we’re usually running at 110% to 120% occupancy, which means that we’re bringing patients, their in-patient care is basically being provided to them in, I would say adequate, circumstances and environment, but in many cases we’re doubling up on the rooms, so we’re bringing another bed in a one bedroom. The rooms were developed large enough to accommodate that, but that’s how we get 120% occupancy as you actually have more patients in beds than you have the official bed count for,” said Carrier, InterHealth Canada TCI, CEO.
During the sixth anniversary ceremony on Monday, where a $6,000 cheque was presented to public libraries, Carrier told attendees it is good to now begin considering what can be done with the shelled space at the two sites.
“You know the possibility of putting a combination of hospital beds, out-patient services, out-patient services on their own, or just in-patient beds as we have in most units here. So there’s different ways of looking at how we can use that space, but it shouldn’t be done without the planning and knowledge concerning medical tourism because that would place a demand on our resources here,” explained Carrier.
The fact that the Turks and Caicos hospitals has this extra room, which is now being used as storage, was visionary said Carrier and it opens the door to luxury medical tourism, potentially.
The ‘extra’ or ‘shelled space’ at the Cheshire Hall Medical Center is in the eastern end of the facility; while in Grand Turk, the additional capacity is found throughout the medical center.
