Taiwan has signed an agreement with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) for Mackay Memorial Hospital to assist the Caribbean nation through a four-year program designed to improve its public health emergency preparedness and response capabilities.
There are currently only five tier 2 and 3 hospitals with emergency departments in Saint Vincent, all of which face severe shortages in emergency equipment, ambulances and qualified emergency personnel, Mackay hospital said in a statement on Friday 5 Nov.
Tier 2 hospitals have extra facilities, such as intensive care units, specialist doctors, and consultation and diagnostic services, while tier 3 hospitals have training programs for doctors, rehabilitation, laboratories and dialysis units.
These shortages seriously affect the emergency response capability of the hospitals, not to mention that they also lack practical training, it added.
The assistance program would enhance and reinforce the emergency medical care and infectious disease capabilities of the Caribbean nation’s medical system, Mckay said.
The hospital said that it would combine standards from the WHO on post-trauma recovery with its own expertise in these fields.
It would also devise comprehensive strategies that integrate policymaking, talent cultivation, medical facility function enhancement and community public health emergency response awareness, it added.
The program dubbed the “SVG Public Health Emergency Response System Improvement Plan,” was signed last Tuesday as part of a joint cooperation agreement by Ambassador to Saint Vincent and Grenadines Peter Lan (藍夏禮) and SVG Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment St Clair Prince.
Taiwan has maintained diplomatic relations with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines since 1981.
