The full commissioning of St Jude Hospital will mark a significant step forward in improving healthcare access and advancing universal health coverage in Saint Lucia, according to Chief Medical Officer Dr Sharon Belmar-George.
Speaking in a televised address on June 11, Dr Belmar-George said the reopening of the refurbished facility is critical to ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare services for residents in the south of the island.
“St. Jude Hospital, which is located in the south, provides secondary care services,” she explained. “One of the very important pillars in relation to providing universal health coverage is health equity.”
She noted that relocating services to the refurbished hospital will improve the quality of care available to communities in the south while ensuring that healthcare standards are maintained across the island.
“So the commissioning of St. Jude to the refurbished site will ensure that the residents in the south have access to quality of care within a facility that can provide the care at the standard that we need to provide it at,” Dr Belmar-George said.
“It is important within the island for the population that we serve that we ensure that both of our health facilities are able to provide health care at a specific standard,” she added.
According to the Chief Medical Officer, St Jude Hospital will continue to play a vital role in delivering secondary healthcare services, including surgery, maternity care, dialysis and emergency treatment.
“That is the secondary care services such as surgery, delivery, dialysis, the capacity to manage emergencies,” she said.
Dr Belmar-George also highlighted the strategic importance of the hospital’s location near Saint Lucia’s international airport.
“St. Jude is located in the south where our international airport is located. So it is also important that access to care if there are any emergencies related to international travel, we are able to manage it.”
She revealed that health officials are working closely with hospital administrators to ensure that services meet the required standards.
“So we are working very closely with the committee at St. Jude to ensure that the services that will be provided meet the standard of care so that there is equity within the north and the south,” she stated.
The Chief Medical Officer said the commissioning of the hospital supports both the government’s healthcare priorities and the broader goal of universal health coverage.
“We do expect the full commissioning of the hospital to support both our national strategic plan and the government’s priority for universal health coverage,” she said.
While discussing the future of healthcare delivery, Dr Belmar-George emphasized the importance of strengthening primary healthcare services across the island. She noted that providing more services at the community level would help reduce pressure on hospitals while improving patient experiences.
“One of the priorities for the ministry and this falls under my office, my office we have been doing the necessary assessments of our district hospitals for example and our polyclinics,” she explained.
“We are working on the expansion for expanded hours and also expanded services to include diagnostic services and this will definitely support the improvement in services at the hospitals.”
She acknowledged that overcrowding and long waiting times in emergency departments have generated complaints in recent years.
“One of the issues which we have been managing over the last few years are lots of complaints coming out of the emergency rooms at the hospitals and part of it has to do with the limitations within care, within primary care, especially when it comes to diagnostics and the limitations in our opening hours,” Dr Belmar-George said.
She identified facilities including the Gros Islet Polyclinic, the Betty Wells Urban Polyclinic, the Dennery Hospital and the Vieux Fort Wellness Centre as key locations where expanded services could improve healthcare access.
“If we can increase the services that are provided and also the times, our patients will be able to access care closer to their communities and it will reduce some of the complaints and the poor outcomes we get when patients wait extended hours within the hospitals,” she said.
The Chief Medical Officer explained that strengthening primary care would allow both major hospitals to focus more effectively on specialized services.
“What will it mean for the two hospitals? They will now be able to concentrate their services on secondary care,” she said. “So they would now be able to manage emergencies, deliveries, surgical procedures, the more complex hospital-based services and we should get improved outcomes given an improved patient satisfaction.”
Dr Belmar-George added that the shift would improve accessibility, affordability and efficiency within the healthcare system.
“It will improve quite a few of the pillars towards universal health care, that there will be better access since you could access those services closer to your home,” she said. “It will also be more affordable because most of the services within our primary care are either free of charge or a lot more affordable and it will be more economical for the government as well.”
Reflecting on the anticipated reopening of St Jude Hospital, Dr Belmar-George praised the institution’s staff for maintaining services under challenging circumstances while operating from the George Odlum Stadium.
“The commissioning of St. Jude would be extremely important. It’s also very timely to support universal health coverage,” she said.
“I really have to commend the staff at the St. Jude Hospital. There is a very warm culture that exists within the South and the St. Jude Hospital.”
She added: “I really have to commend the staff for all of what they have been able to manage over the last few years within the stadium.”
Dr Belmar-George expressed confidence that returning to the refurbished facility would have a positive impact on both healthcare workers and patients.
“So I think us reopening the St. Jude, the level of motivation, satisfaction, and the level of the providers giving care would also boost the quality of care that we are providing there,” she said.