Daniel Doane of MDA Consultants delivered a presentation on the Health Situation of Barbados and the strategic plan process.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joy St. John, Minister of Health John Boyce and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Andrew Gittens (partially photographed) during the Health Stakeholder Consultation Workshop.
A whopping 58 per cent of the Barbados Drug Service’s expenditure was spent on drug therapies associated with the management of non-communicable diseases last year.
This was revealed by Minister of Health John Boyce who was delivering opening remarks during the official opening of a five-day National Consultation Workshop, intended to garner enough information from stakeholders to develop a draft National Strategic Plan for Health for the period 2017-2022.
While highlighting many of the strides made in the health care system, Minister Boyce also drew attention to a 2015 report commissioned by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in which it was estimated that while Bds $64 million was spent on the treatment of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
“It was indicated that the economy may be losing as much as Bds $145 million annually due to missed work days, low productivity and reduced workforce participation. In other words, the direct and indirect economic cost of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes was over Bds$209 million annually, or about two per cent of Barbados’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” the Minister lamented.
The Minister was at the time addressing a number of health stakeholders to the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre yesterday at a workshop which is intended to identify priority challenges to the Barbadian health system; seek feedback on themes and strategic priorities identified to address challenges and identify specifications in support of strategic priorities.
He explained that while communicable diseases have diminished as the leading causes of illness and death in Barbados, outbreaks of new diseases, the re-emergence of infectious diseases in other countries, and the challenge of antimicrobial resistance dictate the need for vigilant surveillance measures to prevent outbreaks from occurring.
Minister Boyce made the point that Barbados’ health care system needs to be transformed into one that is highly sustainable and affordable.
He proposed that this can be achieved by leveraging innovation to support the redesign of health services toward managing chronic illnesses and supporting population health and wellness among all age groups.
“This process of reform must be underpinned by a system that continues to provide equitable access to health care and one that offers comprehensive, quality, people-centred health services. Our focus on developing a National Strategic Plan that continues to embrace universal access to health care cannot be compromised.”
While underscoring the importance of creating a road map for the health care system, Minister Boyce expressed his view on the way forward.
“We must demand timely and accurate health information as the basis for policy formulation and evidence based decision making. At all levels of the Ministry of Health we need to cultivate a culture of collecting, analysing and using information about the population, the services provided and health outcomes.”
“With a rigorous system of monitoring and evaluation in place, we will be better able to measure the level of service performance and quality improvement from both the perspectives of effectiveness and coverage.”
He told the stakeholders that this will require deliberate efforts by institutions to encourage, implement and support such a culture. “It will also be necessary to provide ongoing training in aspects of results-based management.”
The Minister also expressed his wish to see the strengthening of the health information systems through the expansion of the “Med Data” application in all health institutions across the island, as well as the development of the National Health Information Strategic Plan. (JH)