020/2018
By: Erasmus Williams
Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 15, 2018 – Residents of St. Kitts and Nevis will continue to benefit from two Republic of China (Taiwan)-financed projects, that started under the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) administration of former Prime Minister, the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas.
They are the Hospital Information System (HIS) at the J.N. France General Hospital and the Vegetable, Fruit and Upland Crop Quality and Safety Improvement (VFUCQSI) Project Facility which were initiated during the tenure of then Minister of Health, Hon. Marcella Liburd and the Minister of Agriculture, Sen. the Hon. Nigel Carty.
The Resident Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan), His Excellency George Gow-Wei Chiou at the handing over ceremony of the new system at the hospital in December last year noted that the Government of Taiwan has invested more than $800,000 in the project, which spans from 2014 to 2017 and that it represents the first cooperation project between the two countries that combines public health with information and communication technology.
“The purpose of this HIS is to establish digitalized medical record storage in the JNF Hospital in St. Kitts and the Alexandra Hospital in Nevis,” he stated. “Patients who visit the … hospitals will receive personalized health ID cards combined with the appropriate software for medical information and the doctors’ notes from the surgery or consultation can be easily edited.”
This means that information can be viewed and updated in real time by nurses as they check on patients, administer doses of medication or perform other related duties.
In handing over of the Vegetable, Fruit and Upland Crop Quality and Safety Improvement (VFUCQSI) Project Facility and a cheque to the tune of USD$241,000 for the Eco-Park Maintenance Project recently, Project Manager, Dr. Augustine Nwosu said that the VFUCQSI project was initiated in 2014 with the objective of improving the safety and quality standards of crops being produced and acting as a support system to farmers and the general public.
He explained that since the inception of the project over 4,000 crops and 450 samples of soil have been tested as well as the construction of two compost demonstration farms in the federation.
He said the project has improved local agricultural capacity through training, seminars and workshops facilitated by both local and international expats.
Mr. Nwosu mentioned the development of an online soil facility platform that was introduced recently under a new Geographical Information System (GIS).
Photo: St. Kitts and Nevis’ Leader of the Opposition, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas (left) and Resident Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) at the Laying of Wreaths Ceremony at the Robert Bradshaw National Heroes Park on National Heroes Day on September 16, 2017.
