By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

AFTER using Princess Margaret Hospital’s (PMH) chapel for paediatric care since 2021, the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) said it had secured funding to renovate the eastern block of PMH, which includes the Children’s Ward.

PHA said the chapel, located on the first floor of the hospital’s Critical Care Block, had been repurposed due to structural issues on the southeastern side of the Children’s Ward, which was deemed unsafe for patients. Since 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the chapel has served as an overflow space and virtual care unit for paediatric patients.

In addition to the Children’s Ward, the Eye Ward, the theatre, and the development of a new dialysis unit will benefit from the funding PHA has secured.

Consultant Physician Staff Association President Dr Charelle Lockhart said on Thursday that a critical shortage of beds at PMH had led to paediatric patients being treated in the hospital’s chapel.

She described the situation as challenging, noting that the makeshift treatment area lacks essential amenities like air conditioning and basic sanitation.

The conditions at Princess Margaret Hospital have drawn public criticism for decades, and this recent development highlights broader issues within the healthcare system, including ongoing staffing shortages and supply challenges that raise concerns about the quality of care being provided.

Dr Lockhart said that while the PHA often announces plans to address challenges, the reality on the ground frequently falls short of those promises, revealing a disconnect between public statements and the actual conditions faced by patients and healthcare workers.

‘“It is a struggle; it is a mental struggle,” she said. “A lot of the days, when you don’t have the tools you need, that’s a struggle. You are getting criticised by the general public for not doing a good job, but we don’t run the hospital. We work for the Public Hospital Authority and use the supplies they provide. If we don’t have those, it’s very difficult to do our jobs to the best of our abilities. But again, every day we come out there and do the best we can with what we have.”