Seniors’ Day Care Service at BHB Ceases

Bermuda Hospitals Board today announces that it will be ceasing to provide a respite day care service from its Continuing Care Unit from Friday 28 June 2013. Clients and their families have been informed and directed to other organizations that provide a similar day time service in the community. The service is separate to the CCU residential service in CCU Lower, CCU Upper and the Alzheimer’s Related Disorder Unit (ARDU), which has over 100 beds and will continue operating as usual.

The day care service was for seniors who lived outside of CCU and provided supervision, recreation/socialization, meals and medication delivery on week days.

BHB had provided this service from the Continuing Care Unit for over twenty years, but the number of visits had decreased in recent times. The average monthly number of visits per client had dropped 50% from 15 to 8 from fiscal year 2008/9 to 2012/13. This resulted in about 6 to 8 clients using the service each day last year. The service costs $270,000 per year to run.

Granville Russell, Director of Continuing Care Unit comments: “We are sorry to say goodbye to our day care clients, but with reduced client visits, the retirement of two key members of staff and increasing space pressures within the CCU facility, it was time to review the viability of this service. We felt this was not a core BHB service and similar services are already provided by others in the community at a fair price. For the numbers concerned, BHB could not maintain this service at a viable price in order to cover its costs. I would like to thank our retiring staff and the drivers who provided a wonderful day time service and recognize their hard work in catering for this group.”

The service employed one registered nurse, an activity aide and two part-time drivers. The staff members in the nurse and activity aide positions are retiring. The drivers already had other duties within CCU and will remain with BHB.

Venetta Symonds, CEO & President adds: “BHB is about to go through an intensive process of service review and reshaping that will take about 4 to 6 months. The retirement of key staff in this service meant a decision on this service had to made ahead of the full review, but a full business case with multiple options was considered by the Senior Management Team. We will be asking the same questions about all our services – should BHB be providing it, or is it better provided by others, whether Government or the private sector. The pressure is there for BHB to focus on its core services and ensure they are provided at the highest quality and at best value. The strategic planning process will require collaboration and cooperation across the healthcare continuum, which is a positive development for Bermuda. While I anticipate some reshaping of BHB services after this process, it will be coordinated sensitively to ensure minimal disruptions for our clients, patients and staff.”

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