PREGNANT women, who are patients at University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), are facing the uncomfortable and tiring trek up and down flights of stairs to access the labour ward as the sole elevator there is out of service.

On Tuesday, one clearly distraught and frustrated medical doctor told the Jamaica Observer that the situation has become unbearable as the elevator has been out of service for just over a month.

Labelling the situation as “unacceptable”, the doctor said it has resulted in an elevated level of anguish for already high-risk patients.

“I just couldn’t hold this in any longer. The elevator has been out since early July and patients have been walking up and down stairs to access the labour ward in their condition. It has all become too much,” said the doctor, who requested anonymity.

“I have had patients who delivered via caesarean section and just hours post-surgery have to journey down flights of stairs. It is unacceptable. One can only imagine the level of pain the patients must be feeling in those moments, because if you know anything about C-sections, it is difficult to walk post-surgery, more so up and down flights of stairs.

“It is especially disheartening, considering the patients are critical care patients. What if we have an emergency situation where a patient loses consciousness and is unable to take the stairs? Something needs to be done, and it needs to be done now,” added the doctor who alleged that there has been at least one instance of a patient falling down the stairs during her trek.

A patient, who delivered via C-section on July 17, recounted her experience due to the out-of-service elevator.

She told the Observer that while the journey was uncomfortable for her pre-surgery, it was utterly unbearable, having undergone surgery and then having to take the stairs only hours after.

“I had a planned C-section and was booked into the hospital at least two weeks prior to delivery. I wasn’t even aware the elevator was down initially because I just took the stairs. But on the day of delivery I was shocked to find out we had to take the stairs to the labour ward,” said the woman, who asked not to be named.

“This was less than six hours after delivery and the experience was painful to say the least. On a scale of 1-10, I would rate the pain at a 7.5/8. Having to walk down the stairs, supporting yourself by using the rails, it was awful.

“Nurses were there with me offering assistance, and there was the porter who followed with the bags, but you can only imagine how hard that was. At the end of stairs they offer you a wheelchair, but I declined because I know I couldn’t manage to sit down and then get back up,” the woman said as she expressed disgruntlement, having spent thousands of dollars to ensure the best birthing experience.

“I thought the labour ward would have been on the first floor, because that would have eliminated the stairs situation completely, and I was unfamiliar with the set-up prior to being booked, so that was a huge disappointment for me, learning about the stairs. I paid in excess of $200,000 for the birthing package, and I was disappointed with the elevator situation,” she added.

When contacted, UHWI Medical Chief of Staff Dr Carl Bruce admitted that the elevator has been out for some time but told the Observer that the hospital is doing all it can to have the situation resolved as soon as possible.

“It’s been out a few weeks and that’s why it has become so bothersome. If it was out for a few days it would have been fine, but it’s been weeks. It’s a really challenging situation for our primary care patients and, unfortunately, there is no other elevator on the compound that takes you to that floor,” said Dr Bruce.

He said the Ministry of Health is aware of the situation and has been offering assistance to resolve the matter.

According to Dr Bruce, the elevator is in need of a critical part which has to be sourced from Trinidad and Tobago. He said the hospital has already secured the assistance of Caribbean Elevator Company Limited to acquire the part but he was unable to say when it would arrive in the island.

Bruce said that, in the interim, the hospital will be sourcing staircase-friendly wheelchairs to alleviate the patient discomfort.

“The Caribbean Elevator Company said they are working to get the part as quickly as possible. They said they have to send to Trinidad and Tobago. We just have to wait on them because we just don’t have elevator parts in the hospital,” added Bruce, who lamented that acquiring parts from other countries takes time.

A representative of Caribbean Elevator Company told the Observer that a team is in the process of executing repairs and would be better able to offer a comprehensive comment once those works have been completed.

In the meantime, David Walker, acting senior director of facilities, operations and maintenance at UHWI, said the situation may soon be resolved as the part needed to restore elevator service has been acquired.

He said, however, that the team is now undergoing additional troubleshooting to ensure the service is fully operational once repairs have been completed.