Barbados’ flagship public healthcare facility, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), is in the midst of an ambitious, multi-faceted modernization initiative aimed at upgrading aging infrastructure, expanding care capacity, and fixing longstanding service delivery gaps, according to top hospital leadership. Speaking on the hospital’s own QEH Pulse radio program following a recent public town hall, Chief Executive Officer Neil Clark detailed progress on the institution’s 2025-2028 strategic plan, laying out year-one wins and priorities for the new fiscal year that kicked off in April.
Clark stressed that the three-year strategy was never meant to be an unused document gathering dust on a shelf, noting that hospital leadership committed a full year to rolling out the first phase of reforms and prioritized transparency by sharing updates directly with the public. “Nobody wants to write a strategy that sits on the shelf, and that was never our intention,” Clark said. “We spent a good year working on year-one of that strategy, and it was right that we went back to the public and said, here’s the progress that we’re making.”
One of the most impactful early successes of the plan is the newly commissioned linear accelerator, a cutting-edge piece of oncology equipment that has already transformed cancer care access for Barbadians. To date, the machine has delivered 1,500 radiation treatments to local patients, with more than 100 people completing their full treatment regimens without needing to travel abroad. The new technology has drastically cut waiting times for initial cancer consultations, allowing patients to start life-saving care much faster than before.
“It helps patients begin their treatment sooner, have that treatment closer to home, surrounded by their loved ones,” Clark explained. “And at the same time, saving money for the taxpayers of Barbados, by not having to send the patients abroad for treatment.”
Alongside clinical equipment upgrades, the hospital is undertaking a sweeping digital transformation through the implementation of a new Health Information System (HIS). Project teams have already scanned and digitized more than four million pages of physical medical records, converting 75,000 active patient files to fully digital formats. Up next is the digitization of manual human resources records for the hospital’s nearly 3,000 employees, as well as overhauls of procurement and financial administrative workflows.
Clark emphasized that the digital push is not just about adopting new technology for technology’s sake: “Digital transformation isn’t about digital, it’s about how we improve the healthcare system as a whole. The goal is immediate, real-time clinical data access at the point of care.”
The entire modernization effort is backed by a $130 million capital expenditure fund earmarked for replacing outdated medical equipment. Clark reported that close to 2,000 new equipment items are currently in the procurement pipeline, with $50 million already spent to systematically upgrade the hospital’s aging fleet of clinical tools. The hospital has also expanded its workforce, filling the vast majority of 295 newly approved staff positions to support upgraded services.
The transformation extends far beyond the existing QEH campus. Construction is already underway on the $400 million Enmore development, located directly across the street from the main hospital. The project includes a new state-of-the-art Queen Elizabeth Rehabilitation Centre and an environmentally sustainable green waste management incinerator system to handle clinical waste.
However, executing multiple large-scale capital projects at the same time has created growing pains, forcing multiple departments to relocate temporarily and creating logistical disruptions for both staff and patients. For example, the phlebotomy department has been moved from the Enmore site to the hospital annex at the intersection of 6th Avenue Belleville and Pine Road, a shift that has caused confusion for many visitors.
Hospital leadership acknowledged that proactive public communication about these changes remains an ongoing challenge. During the radio broadcast, callers shared multiple complaints, including unannounced outpatient clinic cancellations that left patients traveling to the hospital unnecessarily and incurring unplanned travel costs.
Addressing one specific complaint from a wheelchair-dependent caller who paid for a taxi only to find her appointment had been cancelled without warning, Clark issued a direct apology and pledged that the new digital HIS will resolve these gaps with automated mobile appointment reminders and electronic rescheduling tools. “That’s a great example of somebody who the service didn’t work for. She came in for no reason, spent the money on the taxi for no reason,” Clark acknowledged. “These are things with the help of the health information system and the availability of information, we should be able to address.”
Reducing long wait times in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department is the top priority for the second year of the strategic plan. Clark admitted that he was frustrated waiting times had not fallen as quickly as projected in year one, even as he acknowledged that rising patient volumes and more complex cases have put additional strain on the department. Still, he noted that the foundational structural changes needed to speed up patient flow are now in place.
“A waiting time challenge is bigger than the A&E department, and it’s bigger than the QEH. It’s about the whole health system working together,” Clark said. He identified expanded preventive care, stronger primary care support, faster diagnostics, and improved post-acute community care as key pieces needed to eliminate bottlenecks across the care continuum.
“I remain confident that the plans we’re putting in place and the dedication of the teams at QEH to improve those waiting times and improve the patient’s experience will happen and come to fruition,” he said. “This year, we will drive again harder at those A&E waiting times and bring those down.”
Clark advised members of the public seeking up-to-date information on clinic relocations, service changes, and operational adjustments to check the hospital’s official public portal at qehconnect.com for real-time updates.