ECS International, ECSII, Healthcare
Surgeon and entrepreneur Dr. Devi Shetty has recently outlined his plan to make Grand Cayman the “capital of medical tourism for the western hemisphere” within the next seven years. The man behind Health City Cayman believes the hospital’s growth will accelerate with the construction of a new multi-million dollar cancer centre within the next 12 months. He expects patients to come largely from the Caribbean and wider Americas region rather than the US, as first conceived.
Developing countries with small to medium-sized economies pay far more money for less effective drugs, according to a new report released by the Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD) shows that generic drugs, like omeprazole (used to treat heartburn), can cost 20-30 times more in low and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. Also, in countries such as Zambia, Senegal and Tunisia, everyday drugs like paracetamol can cost up to 30 times more than in the UK and USA. Poorer countries, tend to buy the most expensive medicines, rather than cheaper generic pharmaceuticals which make up 85% of the market in the UK and US.
According to the report, low- to middle-income countries “have little ability to negotiate prices down and quality assure products” and there are lots of mark-ups, often due to taxes and corruption. There is often less stringent regulations in place which results in poorer quality of the drugs being sold in the marketplace. Consumers in these countries have the misperception that generic drugs don’t work, and so will pay extra for brand drugs that they think will work. Interestingly, the very poorest countries are not affected when foreign donors (NGOs’) purchase medicine on their behalf, resulting with their over-the-counter medicines remain at low cost. However, in richer countries, thanks to public funding and strong regulations for purchasing drugs, are able to procure cheaper medicines.
The report recommends greater global co-operation and reforming of World Health Organisation (WHO) policy as well as policy in targeted countries to improve procurement practices.
The English-speaking Caribbean is in the midst of a crisis of shortages of nurses with an average vacancy rate of 42 percent. Low pay, poor career prospects, and lack of education opportunities are among the reasons nurses resign. Many of these nurses look outside the region for job opportunities in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and other countries. It is estimated that 21,500 nurses trained in the region now work in Britain, Canada and the United States – that’s three times as many as those in their home countries. Compounding the situation is the lack of resources to train nurses to fill the vacancies. In addition, the demand for nurses exceeds their supply throughout the region: 3,300 or 30 percent of all positions in the sector were vacant at the time of the study.
Now St. Lucia is losing an average of two nurses a week to migration and the shortage is beginning to having a negative effect on the Ministry of Health’s ability to deliver primary and secondary health services. [Read more…]
Cuban doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals have been sharing their expertise at hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities in Jamaica since the 1970’s. In 2010, Cuba established an Ophthalmology Centre on the campus of St. Joseph’s hospital in Kingston to treat Jamaican and other Caribbean nations with eye conditions which has been so successful that the eye care program was extended in 2015 for another three years. In 2017, there were almost 200 Cuban health professionals working throughout Jamaica.
Now Jamaica’s public health system will be receiving more than 100 doctors and well over 200 nurses within the year all coming from Cuba as part of a long-standing relationship with the Cuban Government under the Technical Cooperation Agreement between Jamaica and Cuba and it is expected that this group will be strategically placed to strengthen Jamaica’s primary health care system.
The first personalised drug for prostate cancer is set to revolutionise treatment and extend the lives of thousands of men. The drug (olaparib) is currently licensed to treat ovarian cancer could be a successful treatment for men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. Currently in clinical trials, the pill is taken on a daily basis and uses the patient’s genetic make-up to target the tumour’s defences is said to work in 80 percent of men with certain genes.