NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (November 06, 2013) — Members of the Nevis Renal Society were given the assurance that the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) through the Ministry of Health would put facilities in place, to assist with the provision of care for persons who suffered with renal diseases.
Premier of Nevis Hon. Vance Amory gave the commitment when he delivered remarks at the Society’s Gala Memorial Awards Dinner on November 02, 2013 at the Occasions Conference Centre, Pinney’s.
“Where we do have sufferers, I want to pledge the government’s commitment to work in tandem with the Renal Society and with any other private sector partners so that we can have a facility to provide that service. It may not sound as hopeful as we have ordered another machine but to order a machine is only the beginning, we have to do other things.
“We are thinking of selecting nurses to be trained to ensure that we have the support system. We are looking at sourcing the support systems which we will need once we have the adequate number of machines because we have been warned, that if you have one machine, you set it up, somebody goes on and something happens caput. I don’t want that to happen and I am being very practical and I really want us, however, to work hand-in-hand, cooperatively, collaboratively to relieve ourselves and this country of that problem. I give you my word and I hope my word to you is hope enough and we shall do what we can to make it even more deliverable as time goes on,” he said.
Mr. Amory, who stood in for the Minister of Health Hon. Mark Brantley, explained further that there had been ongoing dialogue with a provider of renal care in St. Croix, a process which he had commenced 10 years before.
He noted that, it was the Administration’s intention to push discussions since that provider had an extensive operation with about 30 units at his facility in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI).
However, after discussions with the USVI-based provider and other persons in St. Kitts and Nevis, the Premier stated that a unit would be established on Nevis.
“In our discussions with him and with other persons in St. Kitts and Nevis, I will not say that we will have a unit established within the next six months because I think we need to be realistic and practical even as we know that it is an absolute necessity.
“We shall however, do all that we can as an Administration, to see how quickly we can either establish our own or whether we need to function in collaboration with the St. Kitts providers of the service, to ensure that our sufferers from renal disease here in Nevis, can get treatment and not having to go far abroad and to save the expense,” he said.
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