Dr Terrance Drew hold talks in Germany aimed at providing better healthcare under the NextGen Labour Government
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.
In a statement on Monday, the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party 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, cardio-vascular 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.
The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party 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.
n 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 morrow 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.
