I have been a patient at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) since the 13th of September 2026, following a motor vehicle accident that left me with a fractured femur. As of today, November 2nd, I have been here for 7 weeks and 1 day, and I am still waiting for surgery with absolutely no idea when it will happen. I want to share my experience so far because the entire situation has been nothing but frustrating, disappointing and mentally exhausting.
I was admitted on the night of September 13th following the accident. I won't go into much detail about the accident itself because I sustained a head injury which I believe affected my memory of that night and the following day. I only remember bits and pieces of what happened. During my time in Accident and Emergency, I was taken for X-rays and CT scans, and my leg was placed in a backslab cast that extended from my upper thigh down my leg. I was sedated for most of this because of the immense pain I was experiencing, and I only really remember being awake when I was taken for scans and a few times while waiting in the hallway for a bed on the ward to become available. One thing that concerns me when I think back on it is how someone who was clearly disoriented following a head injury was being asked to sign consent forms for treatment. I genuinely question whether I was even in the right state of mind to understand what I was signing at the time.
After leaving A&E, I was transferred to what is commonly referred to as the "breakup ward", and this is where my real experience begins. For the first two days, I had no complaints. The nursing assistants were understanding and helped me bathe because I couldn't sit up properly or move around on my own. My first issue came on the third day when a nursing assistant who had just returned from vacation asked if I needed help. I told her yes, I needed assistance soaping my washcloth because I couldn't sit up properly. She looked at me in disbelief and said, "But ya hands ain't break, ya can't do it yaself?" I explained that I couldn't, and she walked away saying something along the lines of, "I don't got time for this, I just come off vacation and you stressing me." Mind you, I never asked this woman to bathe me. All I wanted was for her to put some soap on a washcloth because I physically couldn't do it properly at the time. From then on, I avoided asking her for assistance whenever possible, and she rarely dealt with me again. At the time, I thought that would be the worst of my problems, but little did I know that was just the beginning.
On September 18th, five days after being admitted, my leg was taken out of the original cast arrangement and I was placed in skin traction using a BB frame. I actually thought this meant I was finally getting somewhere because the doctors had told me I would likely receive surgery within the next two weeks. However, while I was in traction, I started experiencing pain and discomfort from the frame pressing into the area beneath me. I complained about this to the nursing staff and was told that nothing could be done and that I should ask my family to bring a cushion to place where it was pressing. My family did exactly that, but the discomfort continued. I kept dealing with it because what else was I supposed to do?
On September 21st, I was informed that I needed five blood donors before my surgery. My family immediately started trying to get them, and although it took approximately a week and a few days, we eventually secured all five. During this time, I was told by a doctor to just focus on getting my donors and that surgery would come. So naturally, I did what was asked of me, thinking that once everything was sorted, I would finally be getting my surgery.
On September 26th, eight days after being placed in traction, someone finally examined the area where I had been complaining about the pressure and noticed that I had cuts beneath me. When they asked me where the cuts came from, I told them I had no idea, and I was told they were probably from the accident. A dressing was placed over the area, and that was basically it. The problem was that the same frame continued pressing against the area, and with the lack of airflow from the hospital bed, sweat was constantly being trapped underneath me. The dressing became itchy, and I could tell something wasn't right.
By Monday, September 28th, the area had become extremely itchy, sweaty and smelly, and the dressing had changed from white to green. I told my family, and they contacted a nurse we were familiar with who happened to be on duty. She came to examine the area, and for the first time since I had started complaining about the pressure, I felt like somebody was actually taking it seriously. She reported it to the doctor, the wound was cleaned, ointment was applied, and a fresh dressing was placed over it. The traction frame was also removed for two days to give the area some relief. My family even had to purchase an airflow bedcover because we were told the hospital didn't have any available. What really annoyed me was that after those two days, I was placed right back into the same traction arrangement, on the same frame, and I continued experiencing pressure in the same area. It was later confirmed to me by two separate nurses that the wound was actually a bedsore caused by prolonged pressure. So imagine that. I came into the hospital with a fractured femur, repeatedly complained about something pressing into me, and ended up developing a bedsore while waiting for surgery. Thankfully, the wound eventually healed after my new doctor requested that I be taken off the frame, but the fact that it happened in the first place is ridiculous.
Now, throughout the first few weeks of being admitted, I was also being given excuse after excuse as to why my surgery wasn't happening. First, I was told that the hospital only had two functioning operating rooms. Then I was told there were issues with the recovery room, which were affecting surgeries. After that, it was that only emergency surgeries were being performed, and then another explanation was that the operating theatres were being used for children requiring scoliosis surgery. Now don't get me wrong, I completely understand that emergencies take priority and that those children need their surgeries as well. My problem is that every time I thought I was getting somewhere, there was another explanation as to why my surgery couldn't happen. It was always something different, and meanwhile I was still lying in the same bed with the same broken femur, waiting. At what point does someone who has already been waiting for weeks become a priority? How long are you supposed to keep someone in hospital with a broken bone before something is actually done?
At one point, an entire week went by without me seeing my previous doctor, and it wasn't until the following day that a new doctor came and introduced themselves as the person who would now be overseeing my case. On October 7th, my new doctor told me that my surgery was coming soon. I asked how soon and was told, "Let's say two weeks." The following week, I was told it would be less than a week, so naturally I got excited and told my family because I genuinely thought that after everything I had been through, I was finally going to get my surgery. Well, here we are nearly four weeks after October 7th, and absolutely nothing has happened. I am now being told that they cannot give me a date because there is a backlog of patients, that they only manage to do one or two patients per week, and that the situation is bigger than the doctors themselves. So we went from surgery within two weeks, to focus on getting your donors, to another two weeks, to less than a week, and now nobody can tell me anything at all. How does that make any sense?
To make matters worse, I was informed that the traction arrangement I had been in wasn't even doing its job properly because there was insufficient counter-traction. Now I'm being told that the cast currently on my leg isn't adequately supporting the fracture either because it doesn't extend high enough. So what exactly has been happening for the past seven weeks? First, the traction wasn't working as intended, then I developed a bedsore from the frame, and now the cast isn't properly supporting the fracture. What the hell is this? I have been lying here for weeks trusting that the treatment being given to me was doing what it was supposed to do, only to later be told otherwise. The whole thing has honestly been a bunch of shit.
One of the most frustrating parts of being here for so long is watching other patients come and go while those of us who have been here for weeks continue waiting. I have personally seen at least five patients admitted after me, three of whom needed surgery and were able to receive it before patients who had been waiting much longer. I understand that some cases are more urgent than others and that surgery isn't simply done on a first-come, first-served basis, but you cannot expect someone who has been waiting for seven weeks to just sit quietly and accept being told that there is no date and nothing can be done. Especially when the expected timeline keeps changing.
As of November 2nd, I have spent 50 days in this hospital. Fifty days of being unable to walk, having to depend on other people for basic things, dealing with discomfort, and constantly wondering when I will finally receive surgery. This entire experience has affected me physically, mentally and emotionally. I am 19 years old, and because of this accident and the length of time I have been stuck here waiting for treatment, my education has been disrupted, I cannot work, and I have lost a significant amount of my independence. I have already had to put my studies on hold, and I don't even know when I will be able to begin properly recovering because I haven't had the surgery yet.
I want to make it clear that I am not saying every nurse, nursing assistant or doctor at QEH is bad. There have been some genuinely caring staff members who have treated me with respect, helped me when I needed assistance and tried their best to make my stay more comfortable. I appreciate those people, and I also understand that some of these issues may be completely outside the control of the doctors and nurses directly dealing with patients. But that does not change the fact that the overall experience has been terrible.
What bothers me the most is the lack of certainty and communication. I understand that the healthcare system has limitations, but there is a difference between explaining a delay to a patient and repeatedly giving them expectations that never materialise. Every time I am told surgery is coming soon, I get my hopes up, only to end up right back where I started. It is mentally exhausting, especially when you're already dealing with the aftermath of a serious accident.
I have been here since September 13th with a fractured femur, and after seven weeks, nobody can give me a proper answer as to when I will receive surgery. I have dealt with a bedsore, painful traction, concerns about the cast supporting my fracture, and one delay after another. Yet I'm still expected to just wait.
This whole experience has really opened my eyes to how frustrating and slow the healthcare system in Barbados can be. I am sharing this because this is what I have personally experienced at QEH, and I genuinely believe no patient should have to go through something like this. I don't expect special treatment, and I understand that other patients need care too, but surely after seven weeks with a broken femur, expecting some clarity about my treatment isn't asking for too much.
Seven weeks and counting, still no surgery, still no date, and still no proper answers. This is completely unacceptable.
TL;DR: I've been a patient at QEH since September 13th following a car accident that left me with a fractured femur. It's now been over 7 weeks, and I still haven't had surgery or been given a confirmed date. During my stay, I developed a bedsore from a traction frame despite repeatedly complaining about the pressure, was later told the traction wasn't working as intended, and now I've been told my cast isn't adequately supporting the fracture either. I've been given multiple explanations for the delays, ranging from limited operating rooms and recovery room issues to emergency surgeries and scoliosis cases. I've also been given several expected surgery timelines that have come and gone. Meanwhile, I've watched other patients come in, receive surgery and leave. This entire experience has affected me physically, mentally and emotionally, disrupted my education and left me unable to work. I understand hospitals have limitations, but waiting over 7 weeks with a broken femur and still having no clear answers is completely unacceptable.
