Saint Lucia Enhances Emergency Care with Nottingham University Hospitals Partnership
saint Lucia is bolstering its emergency care system through a collaborative partnership with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS trust. The initiative recently launched with a focused training program for emergency room and urgent care nurses, aiming to improve triage and assessment procedures.
The first phase of the collaboration involved intensive clinical skills advancement sessions for nurses from various healthcare facilities across the island. Dr. Delphina Vernor, Senior Medical Officer for Urgent Care and Health Disaster Management, emphasized the importance of this training in streamlining emergency department operations. ”The training…is giving them vital skills on triaging, assessment of trauma, and management of patients who present especially to our urgent care facilities,” she stated. The focus is on equipping nurses to quickly and accurately assess patients presenting with critical conditions like stab wounds, heart attacks, strokes, and severe asthma, ensuring timely intervention.
Richard Holder, Head of Global Health Partnerships for Nottingham University Hospitals, outlined the long-term vision for the partnership. He expressed a desire for a five-year collaboration built on mutual knowledge exchange and capacity building.”There’s lots of opportunity for us to share knowledge and expertise,” Holder explained, noting the program will encompass areas from leadership and management to technical clinical skills and support staff development.
Registered Nurse vitonius Alexander, a participant in the training, praised the initiative. “I am elated with the partnership that the Ministry of Health and Nottingham University is offering. I find it’s a good initiative to help boost the level of care and support…to better the community and better patient care.”
Beyond the training sessions, the Nottingham University Hospitals team conducted site visits to healthcare facilities throughout Saint Lucia. The information gathered during these visits will be used to refine the learning exchange program and inform the development of future collaborative phases.
