MINISTRY OF HEALTH MOVES SWIFTLY TO RECTIFY CHALLENGE AT THE HAEMODIALYSIS UNIT

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, October 14, 2022 (SKNIS) – The Ministry of Health, under the guidance of Prime Minister and Minister of Health the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew, took quick actions today, Friday, October 14, 2022, to ensure that a challenge that affected the work being carried out at the Haemodialysis Unit at the Joseph N. France General Hospital was rectified. 

Prime Minister Dr. Drew, during a visit to the Haemodialysis Unit this evening, explained that the hospital was experiencing a challenge in acquiring bloodlines for the haemodialysis machines and that challenge affected the quality of care being delivered. 

“There was a challenge in getting the bloodlines for the dialysis machines and so I think the staff quickly had to improvise and make sure that they dealt with the situation [by changing] up the shift in which people are given dialysis, and I want to thank them for being innovative with respect to dealing with the challenge,” said Dr. Drew.

A haemodialysis bloodline system is a type of tubing system that connects a patient’s blood circulation to a dialyzer in the course of the dialysis treatment.

“We have been able to get in the bloodlines, which are the lines that are important to working the dialysis machine. That line we are talking about…is what allows the blood to go out, go through the machine and then come back into [the patient],” Prime Minister Drew added. “We have resolved that to this moment and we will ensure that the situation is continuously dealt with. So at this moment operations are back to normal, patients are receiving their treatment and I wish all the patients well.” 

Isalin Pitt, a Certified Dialysis Nurse at the Haemodialysis Unit, thanked the honourable prime minister and the Ministry of Health for their quick response and resolution to the challenge. 

Prime Minister Dr. Drew expressed his heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the nursing staff at the Haemodialysis Unit “for their tremendous work and continued sacrifice in making sure that this life-saving treatment is available here for the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.”

-30-