TCI Hospital Relaxes COVID-19 protocols

#TurksandCaicos, April 7, 2022 – The safety of our patients, their families, and our hospital team is always a priority.  The COVID-19 pandemic continues and we have used a risk-based approach to revise a number of our protocols to allow for a phased and safe approach to hospital visits and access to the facilities.

During the month of March 2022, there has been one patient admitted to the inpatient units across both Centres with COVID-19 and that person was detected on screening and was asymptomatic. We have seen a significant reduction in persons presenting to the emergency department with symptoms of COVID-19 and the overwhelming majority of the PCR results are negative. There is also a significant decline in the number of active cases of COVID-19 in the community and we have been advised the positivity rate for the Turks and Caicos Islands is less than two percent.

As a result of the decline in COVID-19 cases, we shall be making the following changes to the visitation and facility access protocols effective April 4th, 2022.

• Increase the number of visitors per patient from one visitor to two visitors.
• Visitation shall take place between 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. with a view to gradually introducing additional visitation times over the next 4 to 6 weeks depending on COVID-19 level activity.
• Re-opening of the main entrances of both hospitals.

The following measures remain in place within the facilities in an effort to ensure all hospital visits can occur as safely as possible:

• Mandatory mask-wearing.
• Frequent hand sanitization.
• Social distancing.
• Persons with viral symptoms or symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 are to present to the tent for triage located at the entrance of the emergency departments.
• Visitation outside of the 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. period will continue to be organized by the supervisor on duty for special considerations such as critically ill patients, children and persons coming from the family islands.
• COVID-19 antigen screening prior to visitation continues.

All protocols and measures shall be reviewed by 30th April 2022 and any changes will be communicated to the public.

“The gradual return of general visitation times will support patient and family engagement and we believe this initial time chosen is most appropriate for anyone visiting their loved ones at the end of the working day. Our aim is to support visitation while continuing to have some precautionary measures in place to protect our patients, relatives, visitors and staff. I am thankful for the patience of our patients, families and visitors and for the hardworking teams for their ongoing service”, said Chief Executive Officer, Dr Denise Braithwaite-Tennant.

“We are pleased that the main entrances to our facilities are now open, giving the patient easier access as we have done in the past. I want to thank the public for their patience. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge the hard work of all our Facilities Management staff for their assistance and support during the pandemic and continued support whilst we work towards the gradual reopening of the Hospital. We continue to do our best to ensure all safety protocols are followed so that everyone benefits”, Martin Dawtry, General Manager- Facilities Management.

Release: InterHealth Canada