BELONGERS MAKE UP MORE THAN QUARTER OF HOSPITAL STAFF
As INTERHEALTH Canada enters its second year of operation in the TCI, the company can look back with pride at its achievements.
From groundbreaking neuro surgery to a 99.5 per cent reduction in overseas referrals, there is a lot to be proud of.
One achievement that outweighs many is the amount of Belongers employed at both the Cheshire Hall and Cockburn Town Medical Centres.
With locals making up 20 per cent of the TCI's population, Belongers account for more than 25 per cent of InterHealth Canada's workforce.
It has always been our aim to employ as many Belongers as possible, explained InterHealth Canada's TC CEO, Roger Cheesman, and so reflecting on the first year of operation has been encouraging.
More than 25 per cent of our staff are local people and that bodes well for the long term future of the hospital, he added.
Belongers hold some of the key positions at the two medical centres, including the head of Provos Emergency Department and the deputy chief of medical services. And there are also on-going plans to attract qualified Belongers back to the islands from around the world.
Mr Cheesman added: We have Belongers in very senior positions at the hospital and we hope to attract more in the near future.
InterHealth is also offering a wide and varied programme of educational support to all Belongers and we are currently investigating Canadian links for training jobs for TCI doctors.
If we are able to tap into this resource, this could provide us with a whole new generation of Belonger consultants in due course, he said.
Aside from medical posts, TC islanders also occupy a wide range of positions both in support services and administration.
In fact 62 per cent of all staff in these departments are Belongers, something the company is particularly pleased about.
These are key departments in terms of the everyday function of the centres, said Mr Cheesman, and therefore it's tremendous that so many
Belongers are employed. Obviously the long-term plan is for the TCI hospital to be run by TCI people and, as we enter year two, the signs are
very encouraging.
On top of this, we regularly welcome youngsters from local schools who come into the hospital on work experience exercises and I am confident we will see a number of these students back here as members of staff in the not too distant future, Mr Cheesman added.
