Staff of the St. Jude Hospital is currently being engaged in a weeks-long training seminar aimed at modernising their treatment of diabetic patients.

Diabetes, a non-communicable disease, has been the cause of many deaths in Saint Lucia, the Ministry of Health disclosed in recent stats. In other instances, patients with diabetes suffer with an overall lower quality of life, often having to undergo many amputations.

Health workers in the United Kingdom partnered with local organisations to create the Saint Lucia Diabetes Project, which is currently training SJH’s staff.

Dr. Moonie explains the importance of such training in bolstering the quality of healthcare provided to patients in Saint Lucia.

“Too often in Saint Lucia we see results from the very high incidence of diabetes amongst our population. We see lots of foot complications and this training has been aimed at addressing primarily the diabetic foot, assessing it, assessing the patients who are at risk and putting steps in place to ensure that these patients do not end up with amputations or more adverse outcomes,” she said.

The staff, who have been engaging with the UK-based trainers online, had the chance to put their knowledge into practice.

Lead Trainer, Jenny Bentley, observes that the staff have performed well in the practical aspects of the training thus far.

“They've been studying online and I came out two weeks ago and in these two weeks we have been doing the practical aspects. So they have learnt new skills - they learnt the knowledge online, they've learnt the skills at this time and they've all done extremely well. They are very enthusiastic and I'm very proud of them.”

The partnership between the UK and the Ministry of Health was organised by the Diaspora Affairs Department in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Ambassador to the Diaspora, His Excellency Julian Dubois, underscores the importance of collaborations like these in improving the overall quality of life in Saint Lucia.

“Through our Office of Diaspora Affairs, we've been able to provide support and connection with these agencies, Saint Lucia and these projects. So there they are delivering on some of what they've been doing for the past few years. So I want to take this opportunity to thank all of these agencies as well as our agencies here who have chosen to partner,” he said.

This is the second health-based initiative facilitated by the Office of Diaspora Affairs this week as pressure mounts for improving healthcare services in Saint Lucia.

According to government officials, the bed space at medical institutions in the country will be increased in the weeks to come.

The budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Health has also been increased for the financial year 2024/2025.