| Overview : The health of a nation’s population has been globally accepted as a crucial component in the measure of a country’s human development, as evidenced by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, Good Health and Wellbeing. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index recognizes health as one of the three determinants in a country’s progress towards sustained human development and the provision of primary health care for all by 2015 is one of the key Millennium Development Goals agreed by Governments. Access to quality health care services, coupled with lifestyle choices, impact on the quality of life and life expectancy of individuals. In order to create and maintain healthy populations, governments must develop programmes to address these elements. The health sector in Trinidad & Tobago, while probably the best-equipped in the English speaking Caribbean, suffers from limited opening hours in primary healthcare facilities, particularly in rural health centers. At the time of the development of the project, over 200 vacancies existed for specialist medical professionals, general practitioners, health service managers and technical personnel. Similar situation exists throughout the English-speaking Caribbean and can be attributed in part to the pull factors of larger healthcare markets (eg. The United States, Great Britain and Saudi Arabia) which attract a significant number of local healthcare professionals abroad. Additionally, there is continuous outflow of young professionals who migrate to pursue post-graduate training abroad. Traditionally, medical professionals have used the public health sector to gain experience in their related fields before moving on to more lucrative career options at home and abroad, with more opting for private practice rather than meeting the needs of the national public health system. The Public healthcare system has a number of strengths and has achieved a measure of success in controlling communicable diseases. There still remains, however, room to strengthen the quality of healthcare services, including improvements in the rates of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. At the same time, the spread of communicable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, have created a new range of challenges. In addition, the epidemiological profile of the nation has shifted significantly and is now dominated by chronic degenerative conditions and the predominance of “lifestyle” diseases. The leading causes of death are heart disease, cancer, diabetes, cerebrovascular diseases and injuries. Healthcare in Trinidad and Tobago is derived by both public and private institutions. Public institutions offer primary, secondary and tertiary level services through a network of nine (9) hospitals and ninety-six (96) primary healthcare facilities plus a variety of special programmes and support services. Primary healthcare facilities are located throughout the two islands and provide the majority of the population coverage for preventative programmes. These programmes include maternal and child health services, chronic disease clinics and health education. Health Centers provide the population with 10% of curative primary care whilst a further 36% is provided through hospital accident and emergency departments. Private doctors account for 54% of curative primary care provided to the population. The purpose of this project was to recruit 30 medical professionals to work in regional health centres to provide care and support to the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago over a 3-year period. |
