Prime Minister Places Emphasis on the Nation's Health
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Contact: Adhara King
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 – In his budget presentation, the prime minister emphasized the need for St. Lucia to have an integrated and efficient healthcare system, instead of trying to operate with large scale separate entities.
“The success of the healthcare system cannot be judged only by the number of beds we have in a particular facility, or the total area of floor space, or the number of buildings that have been constructed. These on their own are meaningless unless people get the quality care they need, when they need it.”
Prime Minister King says his government will tailor the healthcare system to operate by four main principles: accessibility, affordability, quality, and sustainability.
With these core functions in mind, he proposes the phased integration of the existing Victoria Hospital and the proposed new hospital complex, so that these facilities may operate to complement each other in providing top quality service to St. Lucians.
“We must put together a coherent system, not a fragmented group of facilities and services. We simply do not have the resources to invest in a multitude of massive structures. If we are to build a strong and sustainable healthcare infrastructure, then we must focus on systematically building up the networks of care.”
In addition, the Prime Minister says his government has allocated just over three million dollars to refurbish community health centres island wide, in an effort to maximize efficiency of the island's healthcare system as a whole.
The Soufriere hospital will also receive an allocation of five hundred thousand dollars for refurbishment. |
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