To deal with the steady flow of patients it is important to have a multi-disciplinary team for each ward, says the clinical head of Fort England Mental Health Hospital, Dr Helmut Erlacher.
To deal with the steady flow of patients it is important to have a multi-disciplinary team for each ward, says the clinical head of Fort England Mental Health Hospital, Dr Helmut Erlacher.
However, with the former CEO resigned and only 50% of the positions are currently filled, Fort England has seen better days. Erlacher explained that the hospital has never had a full staff quota.
“The government provides complete funding of the facility and what has happened is that many of the positions have become unfunded,” Erlacher said.
Once a position is open for a certain amount of time, the government stops paying and the process to reclaim the funding is complicated.
Each hospital has a particular organogram, which is a detailed chart or diagram showing the structure of an organisation and its ranks.
“As a result the employment procedure and attaining the necessary funding is a difficult and lengthy bureaucratic process,” Erlacher said.
According to Erlacher, staff turnover is high at Fort England as many staff move on to higher ranking positions elsewhere.
It is somewhat difficult to advance to a senior level within the organisation said Erlacher. Fort England has levelled the playing field for potential employees by not taking preference over internal staff.
“But there is always a need for more personnel,” said Erlacher and the position for CEO is currently being drawn up.
Despite having to pick up some extra slack for the time being, Erlacher believes that the infrastructure will be improved and he takes great pleasure in doing his hobby as a job. “I don’t know what else I would do,” said Erlacher.
