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Health Ministry Focuses on Perinatal Care

Image of Participants at the workshop on the soon to be implemented Perinatal Information System.
Participants at the workshop on the soon to be implemented Perinatal Information System.

IN preparation of the implementation of the Perinatal Information System, the Ministry of Health and Wellness is taking a proactive approach to train personnel in the health sector on the use of the system.

The training workshop on the Perinatal Information System is expected to strengthen the capacity of health care workers in the gathering of data on pregnant women and newborns.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James says this system is extremely important as it will assist with enhancing the quality of maternal and child health services and outcomes at the various health facilities.

“With this system, it aims to improve further the way we monitor pregnant women. With this system it will be very easy for us to look through and see whether a woman has missed visits during pregnancy or whether better investigations have been requested. We will be able to see very quickly whether she is high risk because we know there are certain conditions during pregnancy like hypertension, etc., which are high risk conditions, so it is very easy to flag this and ensure she is receiving the appropriate care.”

Assistant Principal Nursing Officer Tecla Jn. Baptiste says she is very pleased with the system and believes it is an effective tool for monitoring the healthcare of both mother and newborn.

“This system is a tool that will provide uniformity across the board as it relates to data collection when mothers and newborns receive health care in the primary health care centers and also in the hospitals. The perinatal information system will contribute to better monitoring and improve the quality and outcome of maternal and child care in St Lucia.”

The workshop on the perinatal information system was facilitated by the Pan American Health Organisation PAHO and the Latin American Center for Perinatology and Human Development CLAP.

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