Blood on demand, this year

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh has outlined four ambitious policy interventions for the country over the next two years including the “decentralisation” of mental health and the attainment of a UN AIDS goal to help end the AIDS epidemic.

Speaking to reporters following a visit to the San Fernando General Hospital’s maternity ward yesterday, Deyalsingh said the initiatives would also focus on eliminating the “chit system” of blood donations to a “100 per cent voluntary altruistic non remunerable blood donation system.”

“That process has started, the chit system as it is now is totally inequitable and quite frankly could be dangerous. The chit system is where somebody gives blood, they get a chit and they determine who the blood goes to.

“That is wrong. But in the new system anybody, rich, poor, black white, Indian Chinese, African, whoever walks into a hospital can get blood on demand.”

He said the second goal is to eliminate mother to child transmission of HIV and syphilis by the “middle to the end of 2019.” Deyalsingh said the third goal is the “attainment of 90/90/90 targets for the elimination of HIV by 2020.”

The goal, which is outlined on the UNAIDS webpage states: “by 2020, 90 per cent of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status. By 2020, 90 per cent of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy. By 2020, 90 per cent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.”

He said this was all part of a worldwide goal to eliminate HIV/AIDS by 2030.

He said there are approximately 11,500 people living with HIV in TT.

Deyalsingh said the fourth initiative is the decentralisation of mental health as the St Ann’s hospital had become a warehouse for people suffering from mental health issues.

“Mental health in TT in my estimation has been one of the areas we have not distinguished ourselves in. Our model of mental health over the years has been to put people in a warehouse in St Ann’s’.

“What St Ann’s has become over the years, and I make no apology for saying this, it has become a warehouse where you simply take people with mental disease and put them there, their families forget them and that is the most important part.

The goal of the new policy moving forward is to decentralise mental health and put it back in the community setting so that people can go back to their communities and receive mental health support and be reintegrated back into their communities, remake contact with the family and their friends, get community support, there is a certain group of people who can function in their communities with the proper medication and psych support.”

He said St Ann’s hospital has become home to some persons who have spent 30 years at the facility.

“That is wrong, that is wrong and we are hell-bent on starting the process of decentralisation in 2019.”

Deyalsingh also complimented Newsday reporter Carol Matroo and Newsday for being the only media house to have explored the issue of infant mortality with “integrity” by seeking the views of qualified medical personnel on the issue.

He also said that TT had recorded two deaths from the H1NI (Swine flu) virus over the past three years while a report in the United States said some 50,000 persons would die from the flu in the coming flu season.