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Prime Minister's Press Secretary
Thursday, March
2, 2006 - Health Minister Damian Greaves says the construction of a new EC
$60 million national general hospital will be a major feature in the drive by
the Government to ensure that the people’s health needs are addressed in a
comprehensive way.
Speaking ahead of next week’s signing ceremony for the financing agreement for
the new hospital between the European Union and the Government of St. Lucia, Mr
Greaves said the Government is embarking on a major, strategic five-year Health
Sector Development Plan for the year 2006-2011.
With this plan, he says, the Government, through the Ministry of Health,
“intends to comprehensively transform the overall health landscape of the
country.”
“We are modernizing the health system nationally. We have begun and we will
continue after the next general elections,” says the minister.
According to Mr Greaves, the Plan comprises “several components, all aimed at
addressing our needs and improving the system in a scientific and planned
manner.”
The minister identified the priority areas as including “eye health and
disabilities, environmental health, oral health, communicable and
non-communicable diseases.”
Also on the priorities list are “emergency medical services, violence and
injury, social protection (elderly, welfare children’s services, domestic
violence and men’s issues) and child and adolescent health.”
The list also includes “food and nutrition, sexual and reproductive health and
mental health.”
Mr. Greaves says it was “necessary to broaden and deepen the scope” of the
island’s overall health services because, among other things, “we in the
Caribbean are already beginning to see signs of illnesses and conditions that
were once only heard of in the developed countries.”
“But,” he points out, “while we are preparing to confront new medical
challenges, we are also gearing to better handle existing ones, such as Diabetes
and Hypertension, which affects as much as 40% of the island’s population.”
The minister says that under a special programme being put together by the
Government, “as of May 1 this year, pensioners suffering with Diabetes and
Hypertension will be getting free medicines.”
This programme will be administered by the National Insurance Corporation (NIC),
and according to the minister, “it will be a precursor to the introduction later
of the Universal Health Care (UHC) programme, which will also be administered by
the NIC and funded by the Government.”
“The UHC,” says the minister, “will be a kind of National Health Insurance that
will combine and rationalise the available health services island-wide, to
ensure that everyone, everywhere in St. Lucia, will have direct and immediate
access to health facilities.”
“Under the UHC,” the minister says, “each St. Lucian will be registered on a
computer database and their records will become available at any and every
health institution they may go to, at any time.”
“Apart from constructing a new general hospital and a new psychiatric hospital,”
the minister points out, “we have also allocated over $2.5 million for the
rehabilitation of 15 health centres around the island.”
In addition, he says, “there will be full time doctors in every community, as we
have more doctors being trained and returning home now than ever before.”
He reports that 17 newly-trained doctors entered the health service in 2005 “and
there will be as many as 23 more this year, as we prepare to launch the two
modern and brand new hospitals.”
According to official statistics, as many as 70 new doctors will return from
Cuba in the coming period, in time for the opening of the new hospitals.
He also says “many St. Lucians have benefited from the Cuban Eye Care programme,
which has seen over 10,000 persons getting their eyes tested free, and which has
been extended for the year 2006.”
“This,” he adds, “is another programme that ensures we take care of all our
people’s eye care needs, no matter who they are or which party they support.”
Explaining that the Labour administration was “taking a comprehensive approach
to the solution of the island’s health problems,” Mr Greaves says, “We aren’t
only talking, we are also doing.”
According to the minister: “The previous UWP administration promised St. Lucians
one new hospital, but we are giving two. We are taking care of the health of the
nation, and in so doing we are taking care of everyone – UWP, SLP, everybody.”
He says: “We are talking the talk, but we are also walking the walk.”
