Healthcare Crisis at QEH Draws Sharp Criticism from DLP

Bridgetown, Barbados — The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has blamed what it describes as years of neglect and poor leadership for the ongoing crisis at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), accusing two government ministers of presiding over a steady decline in public healthcare services.

In a statement issued this week, DLP Spokesperson for Health and Wellness and Candidate for St. Michael Central, Senator Andre Worrell, said the deterioration of services at the island’s main public hospital was not sudden but the result of prolonged failures by Minister of Health Senator the Most Honourable Dr. Jerome Walcott and Minister of State in the Ministry of Health, Davidson Ishmael, MP.

“Warnings Were Ignored”

Worrell said doctors, nurses, patients and the opposition had raised repeated concerns over staffing shortages, inadequate supplies of medication, ageing equipment and weak management at the QEH for several years. He claimed those warnings went unheeded until public outrage forced action.

“The recent attention being given to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital only highlights how badly these two ministers have failed in their duty,” Worrell said, arguing that effective leadership should not require a crisis or public embarrassment to prompt a response.

DLP Outlines Emergency Measures

The DLP spokesperson referenced a party press release dated Monday, January 12, 2026, in which the opposition called for an immediate national response to what it described as a healthcare emergency. Among the measures proposed were extended operating hours at polyclinics to reduce pressure on Accident and Emergency, an emergency staffing initiative, the introduction of evening family and general practitioner clinics at the QEH, and an urgent financial injection into the Drug Service and the hospital.

Worrell said it was “telling” that only after public outcry did some of these recommendations begin to be implemented. He pointed to recent appeals by the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners for doctors to volunteer in Accident and Emergency and renewed efforts by the QEH to recruit staff to fill long-standing vacancies.

Challenges Extend Beyond A&E

According to the DLP, problems within the health sector go far beyond the overcrowding in Accident and Emergency. Worrell said patients continue to experience long waiting times for specialist appointments, diagnostic testing and surgeries, while hospital departments struggle with shortages of basic supplies.

He described these issues as systemic failures resulting from weak ministerial oversight and poor planning.

Calls to Reopen Harrison Point Facility

The DLP has again called for the immediate recommissioning of the Harrison Point Facility to assist with patient care and relieve pressure on the QEH. Worrell said this proposal has been repeatedly ignored, even as overcrowding worsens and healthcare workers face increasing strain.

Concerns Over Staff Burnout and Industrial Relations

Worrell also raised concerns about deteriorating industrial relations at the QEH, citing burnout, absenteeism and the loss of skilled professionals. He argued that these challenges reflect not only staffing shortages but a broader failure of leadership and support from the Ministry of Health.

Wider Healthcare System Under Strain

Beyond the QEH, the DLP highlighted conditions at several other public health facilities. These include the Geriatric Hospital at Beckles Road, delays in the opening of the Waterford facility originally scheduled for November 2025, chronic staffing and security shortages at the Psychiatric Hospital, and ongoing resource constraints across the polyclinic network.

“Barbadians Deserve Better”

“All of these failures have occurred under the direct responsibility of Dr. Jerome Walcott and Davidson Ishmael,” Worrell said, adding that their continued leadership has become “an obstacle to recovery” in the health sector.

The Democratic Labour Party said it stands ready to deliver what it described as a people-centred transformation of the healthcare system, arguing that Barbadians deserve stronger leadership, better planning and competent management of public health services.