By Caribbean Medical News Staff
Minister of Health John Boyce has thrown his full support behind the Barbados Association of Palliative Care saying that despite being in its embryonic stages, the Association “shines like a beacon” on the landscape of Barbados. Minister Boyce was delivering a speech at the opening of the 4th annual conference of the Barbados Association of Palliative Care at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Conference Centre.
The Minister asserted that palliative care was a vital pillar in the care of persons with incurable illnesses such as cancer and HIV/AIDS, stating that “Caring for persons who are physically and mentally ill requires a great deal of patience and empathy and for this reason, palliative care should be seen as all-embracing.”
In addition the minister said that doctors, nurses, social workers, the clergy and family members all had major roles to play in the process and that these roles must be clearly defined. He lamented that, “the end result is to help the patient affected either to cope with the process of dying if the end is near, or help them cope with the psychological and physical impact of pain”.
The Palliative care model has been introduced in the social and preventative medicine curriculum at the undergraduate level in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, the minister said; adding that the Association also has a contingent of well-trained personnel who are continually upgrading their skills.
Other associations did not go unnoticed by the Minister for their contributions. These were the Barbados American Cancer Association (BACA), the Living Waters Community and the faith-based community in Barbados for their unwavering support of the national palliative care programme. Boyce made a clarion call for the private sector to support the project by aiding with the establishment of a 15-bed hospice for terminally ill patients in the country.
