Health

Seventh Chinese Medical Team Ready To Assist At QEH

As part of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in October 2016 between Barbados and the People’s Republic of China, the seventh medical team from China has arrived to assist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).

The medical team, comprising 13 persons, arrived last night led by the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission’s Deputy Director-General, Xing Yaxi.

On hand to welcome the delegation were Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MHW), Davidson Ishmael, and China’s Ambassador to Barbados, Yan Xiusheng. Mr. Ishmael thanked the Chinese Ambassador for providing expertise in supporting health and wellness in Barbados.

“It is our pleasure to have you here with us in Barbados. This is the seventh delegation that we’ve had joining us to assist the QEH and by extension the Ministry of Health and Wellness, in our efforts to sustain the health and wellness of our people in Barbados. And we thank you for bringing your knowledge, your expertise, and your skills to our shores, and we hope that we can reciprocate this in this mutual relationship that we’ve had for many years,” he stated.

He wished the medical team a successful and safe stay while in Barbados.

Ambassador Xiusheng thanked Minister Ishmael for his welcome and noted that this seventh medical team is a continuation of the deepening of relations between the island and China, as agreed upon by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and China’s Premier, Li Qiang, last year.

He noted that the two leaders also agreed to collaborate in other areas to build a community with a shared future for mankind. “Our two countries have discussed future cooperation in the areas of medical treatment, agriculture, infrastructure, technology, education, culture, and sports,” the Chinese Ambassador said.

He expressed the hope that the medical team would get along with their colleagues at the QEH and “share their knowledge and experiences”.

The MOU makes available to the QEH medical expertise, and to date, support has been received in the areas of nuclear medicine, anaesthesia, rehabilitation, orthopaedics, critical care, and nephrology.

Also present to welcome the medical team were MHW’s Permanent Secretary, Wayne Marshall; QEH’s Chief Executive Officer, Neil Clark; QEH’s Chairman of the Board of Management, Nigel Whitehall; acting Director Human Resources, Ingrid Caddle-Rowe; and Chinese Embassy in Barbados Consular Officer, Liang Jie.

Barbados and China established diplomatic relations on May 30, 1977. (PR/GIS)

Health

Antimicrobial Resistance Week, Mon Nov 18 – Sun Nov 24

Health

More Nurses Arrive From Ghana

Barbados’ nursing complement has been boosted with the arrival of 155 nurses from Ghana at the Grantley Adams International Airport, yesterday.

The nurses, who were accompanied by Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Health, Adelaide Ntim, were greeted by Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott, and other officials.

This is the third cohort of Ghanaian nurses to be dispatched to Barbados since 2020, to address the local nursing shortage. Ninety-five nurses came in the first group during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, while 120 more arrived in 2022, some of whom are still employed here and have made Barbados their home.

Minister Walcott explained that the nurses would be assigned to various specialty areas of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ primary care facilities. These areas include cardiology, accident and emergency theatre, midwifery, psychiatric medicine, and geriatrics.

“So, we’re looking for these nurses to help improve the overall delivery of our healthcare,” stated Dr. Walcott.

Ms. Ntim said Ghana had a surplus of nurses, some of whom were not even employed. She said she welcomed the partnership with Barbados.

The Deputy Minister of Health added that nurses from the previous cohorts proved that they were more than capable of doing their jobs, and expressed confidence that the most recent cohort would also “deliver”. (PR/GIS)

Caption: Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator Dr. The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott, in discussion with Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Health, Adelaide Ntim, at the Grantley Adams International Airport yesterday. Senator Walcott was on hand to welcome 155 Ghanaian nurses to Barbados

Health

CHANGES TO HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

The Ministry of Health will soon roll out a number of changes to the island’s primary healthcare system, in order to drastically address the high numbers of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) seen among the Barbadian population.
This announcement was made by Senior Minister of Health and Wellness, the Most Honourable Dr. Jerome Walcott, as he presented a token of appreciation to Dr. Trevor Hassell in recognition of his outstanding efforts in educating Barbadians on the importance of addressing non-communicable diseases NCDs.
Walcott said, “I have a personal mandate that we should try to reduce the premature adult mortality from NCDs by a third. It is not impossible, it can be done, and in the course of the next few weeks, you will gradually see a roll out of parts of this process.”

He stressed “You will see the plans for primary healthcare; everybody is focused on QEH and tertiary healthcare, but the fundamentals of healthcare have to do with primary healthcare. The ability of early prevention, detection to get better health outcomes. We are looking at that in a project to be discussed soon.”
The Health Minister also revealed that additional screening for a variety of NCDs and cancers will also be made available.
“Within the ministry we are looking at a number of screening processes. We are looking to roll out before the end of this month a colonic screening process initially in two polyclinics, and thereafter we expand. We are looking at a cervical cancer screening process; we are looking at providing mammography services within the QEH again as was previously done up until 2008 where persons can have access to mammograms again for early detection and treatment for cancers.