During the period 2015 to 2020, the Ministry of Health focused on several strategic initiatives which repositioned, reinvigorating and significantly improved key aspects of health care delivery system including:
- Maternal and Child Health, where T&T has already attained its SDG Goal status. A reduction of 50-60 per 100,000 live births in 2015 to under 30 per 100,000 live births in 2018 and 2020
- Neo-Natal Mortality, where T&T has already attained its SDG Goal status from 12.0 per 1,000 live births in 2015 to under 9.0 per 1,000 live births in 2017 to under 7 per 1,000 live births in 2018 & 2020
- Non-Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control Strategy across T&T with Caribbean moves and Health and Wellness initiatives
- Policy decision on the decentralization of Mental Health Services to the community level and removing the stigma at ‘St. Ann’s Hospital’
- The various policy and public health interventions to interrupt and reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 pandemic. Key policy decisions include:
- The development of a parallel health care system specially for the treatment and care of COVID-19 patients
- Establishment of a Multi-Sectoral Committee
- Restrictions imposed based on evidence and medical expert advice on public health mitigation
- The promotion of the “New Normal’ and the development of guidelines for Facilities and Business Places, Homes for the Aged, Home for Children; Worship, Restaurants and Bars, Cinemas and Theaters and Schools.
- Improvement in the operations of CDAP with the reduction of the reordering cycle from 2 months to 1 month and the dispensing fees from $13 to $8 with saving of $5M per year
- Improvementontheachievementofthe Global 90 90 90 targets for HIV/AIDS with T&T targets as of 2019 being 80%; 92% and 91% respectively
Improvement in delivery of our Health Sector Development Programme from an implementation rate of 32% in 2015 to 80% in 2020, including by way of example:
- Arima Hospital – completed
- Sangre Grande Hospital – started
- Point Fortin Hospital – completed
- Over 3,000 patients have so far received diagnostic imaging services at the Couva Hospital and Multi-Training Facility, commissioned by the PNM
- Medical Linear Accelerator (LINAC) Facility at the St. James Medical Complex – completed
- Diego Martin Health Centre – 90% completed
- Port of Spain General Hospital Central Block – Phase 1 of this project completed, with new buildings to relocate central stores, biomedical and engineering services, and medical wards
- CT Scans now available at the Sangre Grande Hospital with over 6,000 patients so far accessing this service.
- Lithotripsy Service at the San Fernando General Hospital commenced, with over 600 lithotripsy procedures performed so far
- San Fernando General Hospital acquired a Holmium Laser machine that allows swift 24- hour surgery and discharge of men suffering from enlarged prostate
