CDAP drugs to return soon

PATIENTS who depend on Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP) drugs will have to wait until Cabinet redirect the resources. Speaking yesterday after a sod turning ceremony for construction of at Linear Accelerator facility at the St James Medical Complex, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said pharmacies can see a return of CDAP drugs as soon as Cabinet approves provisions.

“We are taking steps to redirect resources to the provision of drugs and bring down the administrative cost. I have a meeting at the sub-committee of Cabinet tomorrow (today) to address the issue.

“CDAP cost this country in terms of drugs $26 million per year. With the last administration in their wisdom, in an election year took the administrative cost to $36 million per year. That is why since 2014 we have been having a shortage of CDAP medication.”

Deyalsingh also disclosed that construction of the new central block of the PoS General Hospital with start in September of this year. “In 2009 there was a PAHO report supported by the Ministry of Works and Transport that the Central block at was seismically unsafe.

“The last administration sat on that report for the past five years and did nothing. When I came into office I took the report to Cabinet in 2016, that central block needs to be rebuilt. I got approval in January, we went out for expressions of interest, and there are about seven which will move on to the RFP (request for proposal) stage. The project will be done in two phases,” he said.

He said the old central block will continue to be used while the new central block is constructed.

“We are going to improve the capacity from the current 400 beds to 504 beds. It is not only the increase in capacity in terms of beds, it is an increase in capacity in what we do so for example, PoS General Hospital does not have an MRI machine, the new block will have an MRI machine and a suite dedicated to cardiology. The clinical services are also going to be improved.”