Dr. Natalie Greaves, Qualitative Researcher at the George Alleyne Chronic Diseases Research Centre making a few remarks.
The Barbados National Registry for Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (BNR) is making some progress towards implementing the National Cancer Action Plan.
This comment was made by Dr. Natalie Greaves, Qualitative Researcher at the George Alleyne Chronic Disease Research Centre, during her speech at the Barbados National Registry’s (BNR) cancer seminar, which was held at the Radisson Aquatica Resort yesterday evening.
Greaves took the opportunity to walk through the steps being taken as it related to the process that must happen in order for change to occur. She revealed that the Plan started as a result of the National Cancer Institute Cancer Caribbean Health Forum which was held in Barbados in 2015.
“We would have worked diligently over a two-year period to produce a draft plan and then it was renewed by international experts, including the National Cancer Institute and CDC. There was an incorporation of their comments and then there was a final review process by the Ministry of Health. Then the plan goes to cabinet and then we get money and we can really do something,” she said.
“But this is where we are, at the point of final review to Cabinet and mobilisation.”
She highlighted that the plan represented all various aspects of cancer control and included a section on prevention.
“We do know that we need national guidelines as it relates to treatment and diagnoses because the other alarming trend is while we are obtaining some gains in terms of reduction in incidents as it relates to mortality; we still have an increasing mortality from cancer, which could speak to the effectiveness of our treatment and diagnostics.”
She expressed that the work of the BNR has been extremely important in helping them at the Research Centre gather the necessary statistics needed to make the case for integrated cancer control in Barbados.
Dr. Greaves also noted that palliative care was within the consciousness of the society of Barbados, but they still have not integrated palliative care the public health care systems. This is one of the things that the plan seeks to address.