A fully functional medical plant is what St. Lucians can look forward to as the long-awaited St. Jude Hospital seem well on its way to be completed by July of this year. That is the word from the island’s health minister Moses Jn. Baptiste.
The health minister was asked about the southern medical facility at the government weekly press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister on Monday. Jn. Baptiste revealed that while beds and other critical pieces of equipment had already been installed, the commissioning process continued, a process that hopefully will finally be concluded in July of this year. However, more infrastructure work is on the way.
“We are going to focus on the areas of Grace, Babonneau, Anse La Raye/Canaries, Gros Islet, conceptualizing the Vieux Fort Policlinic, The Ciceron Medical Complex, which will include the Ciceron Health Centre, Entrepot Wellness Centre, Betty Wells, etc”
While that remained a major focal point for the nation, the health minister seemingly highlighted nutrition as his new item on the national health agenda, particularly as it relates to non-communicable diseases. “There will be a major focus on health education with a magnifying glass, so to speak, on personal responsibility. We see an increase in hospitalizations over last year, last year compared to the year before and most of it due to NCDs (Non-Communicable Diseases). We notice that hypertension related conditions continue to feature as the number one reason for the increased hospitalizations in St. Lucia.”
The health minister was impressed with some positive signs that suggest that more St. Lucians are accessing the wellness facilities. He was further encouraged by the fact that more men were accessing medical facilities in recent times particularly for the services that were added to universal health coverage.
Minister Jn. Baptiste, in his submission, also highlighted two medical missions that he believes supports the local medical industry immensely. “I want to remind members of the public that the LAMAT Mission 2026 will take place from Monday April 27th to Friday May 8th, 2026. The LAMAT Mission is a medical mission which provides St. Lucians with surgeries and dental procedures at no cost to St. Lucians. The LAMAT Mission was in St. Lucia last year and hundreds of St. Lucians benefitted.”
The Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) mission to St. Lucia is a recurring U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) humanitarian effort aimed at strengthening local healthcare, building partnerships, and providing specialized medical care.