The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. (FP)
Health care professionals at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) will soon receive a welcomed boost, when eight Chinese practitioners arrive in Barbados to provide support in a number of critical areas.
Acting Minister of Health, Senator Patrick Todd, made this disclosure recently during the official signing ceremony at the Ministry of Health’s headquarters for the provision of technical assistance between the Government of Barbados and the People’s Republic of China.
Senator Todd stated that the assignment of Chinese health care personnel to the QEH marked “another significant milestone” between Barbados and China, and also formalised the Inter-governmental Agreement, which went before the Cabinet of Barbados on September 30.
“The objective of the Inter-governmental Agreement is to enhance clinical and technical skills, and to explore best practices in healthcare delivery through collaboration between the Chinese Medical Team and the medical staff of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital…
“Through this agreement, a maximum of eight healthcare professionals will be assigned to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on a rotation basis for a mutually agreed period of six months for each rotation, over a period of two years,” he explained.
The Acting Health Minister also pointed out that based on discussions with the QEH, the specific areas for enhancement included Nephrology, Interventional Radiology, Critical Care Nursing and Anesthesiology. These areas, according to him, were earmarked for capacity building and human resource development by the Chinese medical team.
Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Ke, who signed the agreement on behalf of Chinese government, also shared the Minister’s sentiments and lauded the global initiative.
She revealed that through the effort, China has since dispatched 24,000 medical staff members to 66 countries across the globe, covering Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, Oceania and parts of the Caribbean including Trinidad and Tobago.
As a result, the Chinese Ambassador said: “I have every reason to believe that the Chinese medical personnel coming to Barbados, with their state of the art techniques and extensive clinical experiences, will display the same outstanding work in Barbados…and work closely with their counterparts in the QEH.”
malissa.brathwaite@barbados.gov.bb