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SMART health care facilities in the Caribbean Project

By Kingsley Emmanuel

Health care facilities are expected to be safer, greener and more resilient to natural disasters through the implementation of the SMART health care in the Caribbean project.

The Department of Health and Wellness in partnership with the Pan American Health Organisation PAHO recently hosted a multi-stakeholder engagement on the SMART health care facilities in the Caribbean project, aimed at ensuring involvement in the changes at the facilities.

Permanent Secretary in the Department of Health and Wellness, Felix St. Hill, says he is very pleased that this project will seek to improve health care delivery and outcome of primary health care facilities around the island.

“In Saint Lucia, we have chosen 15 out of our 34 wellness centres for retro-fitting and effecting improved infrastructural and operational safety with environmentally friendly interventions,” he said. “It is expected that these interventions will not only improve the quality of air circulation and allow the staff of the respective institutions to work under more favourable conditions but will also decrease the consumption of energy and water, thereby reducing our carbon footprints and ultimately increasing patient satisfaction.”

PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Dr. Godfrey Xuereb says the SMART health care facilities go beyond being safer, greener and climate resilient.

“When we talk about SMART facilities, we talk about facilities that provide smart services. And what do I mean about smart services,” Xuereb noted. “Smart services are services that reflect the needs of the population of Saint Lucia today. So smart services are ones that are developed through the profile of the health needs of the country.”

The SMART health care facilities in the Caribbean project is currently implemented in four participating countries: Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The project is funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development DFID.

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