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The BLP sees access to healthcare as a fundamental right of
every Barbadian and insists that it should be funded principally
through public finances, as an investment in our country’s
social capital.
We will
continue to provide high quality, modern, health-care facilities
and services and make them easily accessible to all.
QUEEN
ELIZABETH HOSPITAL
A New
Beginning
A key objective will be to improve the capacity of the
QEH to deliver the most efficient and highest quality health
services. A Board of Management has been appointed and the
rights and interests of all staff will be protected.
The QEH
has remained in its essential physical form for the past forty
years. It will now be substantially upgraded and modernized.
This
project will include:
- Upgrading
and modernising the entire physical structure.
- Increasing
the number of beds to reduce overcrowding on a number of
wards.
- A
new, spacious out-patient department.
- Upgrading
the Departments of Cardiology, Oncology, Paediatrics and
Neuro- Services as centres of excellence within the region.
The entire
Hospital will be computerised to improve efficiency, enabling
staff to access information, and to provide timely laboratory
and X-ray reports. The QEH will then be linked to the Polyclinics
to provide a continuum of care.
Heart
disease is the major cause of death in our Island. The BLP
will therefore establish a state of the art Cardiac Centre.
Funding
of BD$7m has already been sourced. This Centre will provide
facilities for investigating and treating all types of heart
disease.
- There
will be a new angiographic suite to enable assessment of
blood flow to the heart and limbs.
- Angioplastic
facilities will now be provided at the QEH.
The BLP
will fully support the total recapitalisation of the QEH.
We will
move immediately in 2003 to enable it to acquire all the equipment
necessary to allow this institution to replace obsolete and
non-functioning equipment, and to provide for new emergency
generators and a new incinerator.
We
will:
- establish
a Department of Oral-maxillary surgery and expand the utilization
of telemedicine in both clinical care and medical education.
- provide
an expanded Dialysis Unit and a Kidney transplant programme
at the QEH.
NURSING
The nursing
profession in Barbados has made tremendous strides over the
years. However changes within the health-care environment
have made restructuring of nursing services necessary to meet
the needs of the population.
GREATER
EMPATHY FOR OUR NURSES WILL BE A HIGH PRIORITY
We
will:
- train
nurses in sufficient numbers to fully meet local needs,
cognisant of the fact the global demand for such services.
- expand
the specialist training of nurses in neuro-sciences, neo-natal
intensive care, medical and surgical intensive care.
- establish
a Department of Nursing Research.
- deploy
more nursing personnel within the Polyclinics to facilitate
the Public Health Nurses visiting and providing care within
their Districts.
- provide
accommodation for nurses and a day nursery will be established
where their children can be cared for during working hours.
- expand
the flexi-time programme for nurses, now been carried out
on a pilot basis, to all health-care institutions.
- revamp
the General Nursing Council and establish a fulltime secretariat.
MENTAL
HEALTH
There
is significant disability and loss of productivity associated
with mental illness. It is therefore necessary to reform the
Mental Health Services to focus on mental health promotion
rather than mental illness.
The
BLP Government will:-
- develop
a new legislative framework for dealing with mental health.
- implement
a pilot project to reform mental health and to destigmatise
mental illness.
- strengthen
the Community Mental Nursing Programme.
- refurbish
the physical plant of the Psychiatric Hospital over the
next five years. Seven units have been completed and we
will refurbish the remaining ten buildings.
- continue
to increase funding over the next five years for the public/private
sector partnership in the provision of drug rehabilitation
services.
CHRONIC
DISEASES
Life-style
related illnesses are the leading causes of death in Barbados.
Programmes of change must be guided by a health education
approach, emphasising community partnerships and creating
supporting environments.
The BLP
will establish a National Council on Physical Activity. We
will also support the establishment of the Diabetes Centre
to educate, treat and research all aspects of this disease.
BARBADOS
DRUG SERVICE
This
service is unique in the Western hemisphere and has served
as a model for various countries.
The
BLP Government will:
- reform
the BDS to ensure that its resources fully meet the client
class for which it is intended. Greater efficiency will
be achieved by full computerization of all Government pharmacies,
the provision of adequate staff and by regular audits of
public and private pharmacies.
- introduce
electronic transmission of data from private pharmacies
to the BDS and thus remove one of the main irritants of
this service.
- add
medication to treat glaucoma and lupus to the list of special
benefit drugs.
POLYCLINICS
Polyclinics
are vitally important being the facilities at which health-care
interacts directly with community needs.
The
BLP Government will:
- make
polyclinics more amenable to the public, by extending their
opening hours.
- introduce
men’s health clinics at all polyclinics.
- complete
the construction of a new Gall Hill Polyclinic and Community
Services Centre.
DENTAL
HEALTH CARE
We
will:
- develop
and implement a National Oral Health Policy within the next
five years.
- strengthen
Dental Care in our polyclinics by the acquisition of new
dental equipment and the recruitment of additional dental
officers.
PUBLIC
HEALTH INSPECTORATE
We
will:
- strengthen
food safety programmes and ensure that international standards
are maintained.
- encourage
new approaches to the control of dengue fever, including
programmes to control the mosquito population.
SANITATION
SERVICES AUTHORITY
We intend
to provide a reliable, affordable island-wide service. Hence
we will make provision for
acquiring new equipment to facilitate more efficient collection,
and new depots will be constructed at Reid St. in the City
and at Vaucluse in St. Thomas.
SOLID
WASTE MANAGEMENT
Government
has established a comprehensive solid waste management programme.
It is multidimensional with many components already operating:
- The
Mangrove Pond Landfill, St. Thomas.
- The
pulverisation plant at Workmans, St. George.
- The
bulky waste facility at Bagatelle, St. Thomas.
- The
asbestos disposal site at Harlington, St. Philip.
- The
blood and grease disposal site at Lonesome Hill, St. Peter.
We are
committed to managing solid waste in accordance with international
best practices, and mindful of our limited landspace.
We will
give urgent attention to a “total solutions” option,
which includes:–
- Waste
diversion using recycling.
- Aerobic
composting.
- Anaerobic
digestion.
- Incineration.
We
will:
- implement
a National Recycling Policy. In addition, composting at
the household as well as national level will be part of
our strategy.
- begin
a landfill-gas to energy project.
- revisit
incineration bearing in mind the cost and the concerns regarding
air pollution and ash deposition.
CARE
OF THE ELDERLY
We established
the Alternative Care of the Elderly Programme in 1999, by
contracting services for the elderly from private nursing
homes.
In the
last term we reviewed and expanded this programme, and private
nursing homes are now being paid between $65 and $75 per day
for the care of the elderly. We remain committed this venture,
as we believe that these persons who helped build our nation
deserve to treated with dignity.
We
will:
- undertake
a phased refurbishment of the Geriatric Hospital and construct
a modern rehabilitation unit, day-care centre, administration
block and food service area.
- complete
refurbishment the District Hospitals.
ST.
JOSEPH HOSPITAL
We will
partner with the private sector for this Hospital to become
the first tourism related International Medical Centre in
the Caribbean, with an estimated investment of US$35 million
and
the creation of approximately 150 jobs.
The proposed
specialist centre will have an accident and emergency department.
AMBULANCE
SERVICE
The BLP
will continue re-training of all Emergency Medical Technicians.
We:
- will
provide more advanced emergency training for the Police
and Fire Service.
- are
committed to a decentralized ambulance service.
- will
expand the fleet of fully equipped ambulances and will recruit
more staff.
REHABILITATION
SERVICES
We
will:
- develop
a rehabilitation system based on acute, secondary and community
care. These services, currently available at our health
institutions, will be reorganized and upgraded.
- establish
community based rehabilitation programmes, and provide prostheses
to our amputees.
CHILDRENS’
DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
The purpose
of this project is to protect the rights and enhance the quality
of life of the physically
and mentally challenged.
We will
coordinate services for disabled persons on a National basis,
and also gradually introduce community-based programmes for
these persons.
CANCER
RESEARCH
We will
continue to support the Barbados Breast and Prostate cancer
research project which,
over the next five years, should produce critical information
for the treatment and prevention of
these diseases.
HEALTH
INSURANCE
We will
investigate the feasibility of establishing a National Health
Insurance Plan for Barbados.
CARE,
COMPASSION FOR HIV/AIDS
A Programme
of Hope for managing the challenge of AIDS
HIV/AIDS
is not only a health concern, but a significant developmental
issue. We have therefore adopted a multisectoral and multi-dimensional
strategy to deal with it.
The National
Expanded HIV/AIDS programme was centralized under the Prime
Minister’s Portfolio and the National HIV/AIDS Commission
was set up to coordinate the national response.
Barbados’
HIV programme embraces treatment, care, support and counseling
for those infected and affected by HIV/ AIDS, as well as prevention.
In the
first year of our programme deaths in clinic patients from
AIDS have been reduced by 56% and total hospital days have
fallen by 59%.
The re-elected
BLP Government will intensify its programme of prevention,
treatment and care while focusing on converting the current
discrimination against persons infected and affected by HIV/AIDS
to a positive, caring support from the entire national community.
This
will involve:
- Strengthening
capacity to provide reliable information for policy planning
and programming and by upgrading management information
systems.
- Awareness
campaigns on issues specifically related to gender and HIV/AIDS.
- Upgrading
existing polyclinics to provide additional counseling services.
- Expanding
the voluntary counseling and testing programmes at polyclinics
and in communities to encourage more Barbadians to be tested
in a con-fidential and supportive environment.
- Developing
an HIV/AIDS education “train-the-trainer” programme
for private sector organizations.
- Expanding
HIV/AIDS education in our schools system to sensitise schools
en bloc and embracing teachers, students and parents.
- Continuing
prevention campaigns which target the most vulnerable groups.
- Promoting
behavioural change at the community level and expanding
the number of HIV/AIDS
Community Committees.
- Continuing
the successful mother-to-child transmission prevention programme.
- Implementing
a programme to provide care and basic social support to
Persons With AIDS within their home environment
- Establishing
a Drop-In Centre and Food Bank facility which will offer
enhanced material,
recreational skills training and psycho-social support to
Persons Living With HIV/AIDS.
- Upgrading
the Elroy Phillips Centre Hostel, which provides shelter
to Persons With Aids by expanding and rehabilitating the
physical facilities to include space for occupational therapy.
- Continuing
to supply the full drug therapy programme of Highly Active
Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HART) at no cost.
- Strengthening
existing legislation to protect the rights of Persons Living
With HIV/AIDS.
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