Quality of care at the island’s health facilities is currently being assessed by health officials, as they seek to address lingering issues. In August, officials from the Ministry of Health engaged with the management and staff of the southern secondary care facility, St. Jude Hospital, in order to address some of the major issues affecting the island’s health facilities.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sharon Belmar-George, chaired the meeting, which preceded a site visit of the facility. Dr. Belmar said the ministry is looking forward to providing the necessary assistance to the facility through continued collaborative efforts.

“We have discussed increases in admitted cases and some of the quality of care issues, and we are considering the measures we needed to take to improve and to ensure efficient services in the south.”

Dr. Belmar said with the newly appointed Quality Manager, Tecla Jn. Baptiste, the ministry has been looking even closer at its health sector standards. Reform is already underway, as some facilities have already begun making changes.

“You may have noted extended hours at the Gros-Islet Polyclinic where there’s access to care on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and up to midnight, and we are working to also establish the Castries Urban Polyclinic so that persons in that area can also access care when our traditional Wellness Centres are closed.”

Lydia Atkins is the Chief Executive Officer of the lone secondary care facility in the south of the island.

The meeting was the second in a series of planned sessions between the groups.

“Important for St. Jude is the ability to ensure and to guarantee the public that the care they continue to access at the hospital meets the required standards for care, irrespective of the infrastructure where those services are being delivered. We want to ensure that we are able to meet those required standards with the adequacy of staff as well as the adequacy of supplies that we have. We are also reviewing our protocols, our approach to care, and our practices to ensure that we meet the benchmarked international standards.”