BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ELVIS NEWTON, Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Health, has assured that his ministry would continue its efforts to ensure the people of St. Kitts and Nevis are healthy.
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes, the PS outlined some of the ministry’s objectives and goals for 2009.
According to Newton, the ministry’s specific target would be reducing the prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension by focusing on prevention and management of these ailments.
Newton further stated that the ministry was committed to standardising the quality of care at health centres in order to fill the gaps in treatment. He revealed that among other initiatives to be undertaken by the Ministry are the expansion of the dialysis unit at the Joseph N. France Hospital and the placement of blood pressure-checking machines in public places including the post office and Government Headquarters.
The PS also mentioned the reconstruction of the Pogson Hospital in Sandy Point, which he said would be operational by April. He explained that the hospital would offer both community health services such as immunisations and family planning, and hospital-type services such as emergency treatment and overnight observation.
“These initiatives are all part of the ministry’s plan to ensure healthcare services are more accessible to the general populace. We are making the effort to take the services to the public instead of simply just offering them and waiting on persons to be proactive and visit the centres.
“Another problem we have is that our studies have shown that men do not use the health facilities as often as women do. So we are launching a men’s health campaign in order to increase the number of men who are aware of and who would utilise these services,” Newton said.
He added that the ministry would begin working with consultants in order to craft a youth-appropriate HIV/AIDS strategy. He noted that although the ministry had already executed an HIV/AIDS public awareness campaign, the message was still being lost on many of the nation’s young persons.
“It is imperative that messages concerning treatment and care, prevention and tolerance for persons living with the disease reach our young people. We don’t feel as though previous strategies have been effective in doing this, so we decided to try a different approach. The consultants will help us to identify an appropriately tailored message.
“We also plan to roll out some adolescent-friendly health services to encourage young persons to take more advantage of the healthcare services offered,” Newton revealed.
