By Caribbean News Global contributor
BASSETERRE, St Kitts – Following a significant reduction in the quality of healthcare in the twin-island federation, Dr Terrance Drew, the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party candidate for St Christopher 8 and who holds the health portfolio in the NextGen SKN shadow cabinet, is in Germany laying the groundwork to forge the necessary partnerships and commitments to provide better healthcare for St Kitts – Nevis.
In a statement on Monday, NextGen SKN said during the visit to Hamburg, Dr Drew will engage with politicians in the Hamburg legislature as well as administrators and medical professionals of some of the most modern hospitals in Europe to explore cooperation arrangements that would enhance the quality of care and improve medical services in several areas.
These include neuro-radiology, intensive care medicine, obstetrics and pediatrics, cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, post-graduate specialist training in medicine and allied health including health services management.
“There has been a marked decline in the quality of healthcare services and worker morale under the present Timothy Harris-led administration. The NextGen SKN St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party takes very seriously its intentions to revitalize and modernize healthcare and the healthcare system in St Kitts and Nevis as a matter of urgency in a new dispensation,” the statement said.
The SKNLP pointed out that chronic non-communicable disease, namely heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes, remain the main causes of premature deaths in St Kitts and Nevis and in the Caribbean on a whole, accounting for nearly half of the death of persons under seventy years old and for two out of every three deaths overall, based on recent statistics. Of these four diseases, cancer is the second leading cause of death. The care and treatment required to arrest this growing trend is extremely expensive.
NextGen SKN intends to “strengthen the healthcare coverage of our people to ensure universal access to high-quality services while protecting individuals and families from the financial hardship that can be caused by the astronomical prices of care for major and chronic medical conditions.”
“We believe that healthcare is a human right that should be enjoyed by all our citizens, not just a privileged few,” said Dr Drew in a Facebook remark.
On Tuesday, his second day in Germany, Dr Drew visited a state-of-the-art Pediatric hospital and was given a personal tour by the professors.
“They are enthusiastic about coming to St Kitts and Nevis to help with training and to provide opportunities for our people to come to Germany to be trained. I visited the Hematology Unit where they are curing sickle cell anemia with bone marrow transplants and gene therapy. Additionally, treatment for cancers and transplant surgeries are done on a regular basis.
It’s clear to me already how our people will benefit from cooperation in these areas,” said Dr Drew a medical internist by profession.
Meanwhile the former prime minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Denzil L Douglas promised that his St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) will turn around the economy and put the young people of the twin-island nation back to work again.
“Just hold strain for a few more weeks,” said Dr Douglas, who pointed out that with the fifth anniversary of the last general election on February 16, 2020, “the government’s time has expired.”
“We cannot take one day more of this government. The young people are saying they cannot wait for labour to return to office so that they can find jobs. Imagine there are Cuban-trained doctors who have returned after training for seven years and cannot be gainfully employed as this wicked government have employed them as STEP workers (getting just over minimum wage), while his own sisters and brothers, some of whom are barely literate are holding some of the biggest jobs in St Kitts and Nevis.”
“That cannot be right, cannot be right,” said Dr Douglas, who pointed to the large numbers of young students have had to forego or drop out from attending the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) and AVEC.
“Five years after the date of the last election and he (prime minister Harris) has not called the date for the election and still not want to give up the government. After five full years, he refuses to call the elections. The government time is up and we do not care what excuses he gives, his time is up and he must lose the next elections,” Dr Douglas said,
“We do not care how many boundaries he tries to change, the same outcome is going to be a loss for Dr Timothy Harris and a victory for labour,” said Douglas
