Security at the island’s main hospital will be tightened in the coming months as authorities there seek to better protect patients and staff.
Over the next three to six months, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) will be rolling out a major security enhancement project valued at around half a million dollars.
Special attention will be paid to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department, and the main entrance, where about ten clinics are in session per day and more than 500 people pass through during visiting hours.
The measures include improved parameter fencing and lighting, the deployment of more security guards around the property, the installation of CCTV in various locations and additional screening and scanning devices.
Director of Support Services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Louise Bobb.
Director of Support Services Louise Bobb said the project, which would be executed in phases, would result in adjustments to how persons enter and exit the facility in an effort to boost security.
“All of this will supplement what we already have in addition to the services provided by the Government’s defense security personnel.
“I want to ask now for the public’s indulgence as we go through that transition because there will be some adjustments in the next three to six months,” she explained.
The security upgrade followed an incident back in April where a man with a gun entered the facility and threatened staff before making a daring escape.
Since then the hospital has hired a private security firm to man the entrance to A&E and to conduct body searches of persons entering the vulnerable area.