THE island’s healthcare sector will soon see major changes following a two-day meeting held this week at the Finance Administrative Centre at Pointe Seraphine.
Chief Health Planner in the Ministry of Health (MoH), Xysta Edmund, told the media on Tuesday that the Ministry is currently having discussions with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) regarding the integration of health services.
This, she said, is part of the reform of the governance model and is also a smaller part of the bigger health reform initiative.
Edmund said that during the discussion, they would look at the seven strategic directions of their strategic plan, including their first direction which focuses on governance and the organisation of the health sector.
She said: “This activity will allow us to examine more closely the various actors and players in the health system, identify their roles and functions, and work towards a standard operating procedure to allow them to work in a more coordinated manner. We hope that this is going to bring about greater efficiency and effectiveness with regards to health resources.”
One of the focal points of the discussion is universal healthcare which, Edmund said fits in directly with the exercise, especially since there is a strong need to work collaboratively and bring all resources together in order to achieve this feat.
“This is actually one component of the Universal Healthcare Initiative. The other component of the UHI includes the information system; we must have evidence. It includes the quality management system where we must be working according to standard procedures and protocols of care, so this particular activity is just one part of the bigger process of Universal Health Coverage.”
Edmund stressed the importance of the exercise, as they recognise the magnitude of St. Lucia’s capacity and all the attention that is needed in order to have a better health sector.
She said: “We have to think of capacity in terms of national capacity. In this way, although we are starting with a lot of our public health workers, it is to study and orient them around what integrated systems mean, so when we come to the table, we are better able to educate and inform our stakeholders, and work with them in a meaningful way.”
The process, she said, is a lengthy one that will take years to achieve. This week’s activity, however, will take four months because although orientation and capacity building have already commenced, the deliverable is in four months’ time and by then, it will be a framework for integrated healthcare delivery in St. Lucia.
Edmund said: “We’ve been on a reform path for quite some time, but small steps are good steps, and we’re moving forward.”
