PAHO team on island to conduct two-fold medical mission

The Ministry of Health, Wellness and Social Services, alongside the Dominica China Friendship Hospital (DCFH), welcomed delegates of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), who will assess the medical air system at the hospital. Medical air is used for ventilators, incubators, and anesthesia, amongst other uses. It is essential to safeguard patient care, enhance service efficiency, and ensure compliance with healthcare standards. The three-day assessment aims to thoroughly assess the DCFH technical and logistical needs, and help plan future acquisitions of necessary equipment to strengthen the medical air system at the DCFH.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Health, the PAHO delegation will also perform an assessment and evaluation of the National Blood Transfusion Service of Dominica, evaluating its capacity and sustainability for the blood supply quality and safety in the country. In this regard, the team will conduct technical working sessions with the National Medical Laboratory, the Blood Bank and the Donation Center, and other defined stakeholders to collect and assemble data for the monitoring of blood system indicators that are reported each year to PAHO. Additionally, they will conduct visits to the National Medical Laboratory, the Blood Bank, and the Donation Center to obtain an overview of the current situation. They will also assess Dominica’s blood bank using the AABB standard or the PAHO standard for blood banks in the Caribbean. Furthermore, technical recommendations will be provided on how to move forward based on observations and data collected through the assessment tool.

Training and capacity building will be offered on universal access to safe blood transfusions and blood products, and an improvement plan will be presented to local and regional PAHO offices in line with the results of the assessment.

CPAHOEO of DCFH, Nancy Francis remarked, ” It is expected that the knowledge skills, abilities of our teams of medical and medical support professionals will be strengthened through the planned training sessions, knowledge sharing, and interactions with our visiting experts in the fields of medical gas and blood safety.”

Francis closed by thanking PAHO and the health ministry for what she termed “timely medical missions.”