Climate disasters threaten essential health services, minister warns

F rom patients needing dialysis to pregnant women seeking care, people in need of essential health services can have these disrupted by climate-related disasters, Health Minister Senator Lisa Cummins warned on Tuesday, calling for stronger coordination to protect the healthcare system. She said: “For a minister of health at a policy level, the questions include things like whether a patient can still get to dialysis, whether medicines remain available and safely stored, whether a pregnant woman can reach care, and whether our health professionals can get to work from their own homes and families when they have also been affected by the same crises. ” Patients needing dialysis and pregnant women seeking care were among those whose access to treatment could be disrupted, she said.

Extreme weather, water scarcity and food supply disruptions were placing added pressure on Barbados, forcing the island to balance climate preparedness and recovery costs against the everyday demands of healthcare delivery, the minister added. Senator Cummins was speaking at the opening session of the Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) Climate & One Health Conference, held under the theme One Health, One Future: Building Resilient Communities in a Changing Climate . The conference brought together regional and international experts, policymakers, healthcare professionals, academics, students and community leaders to examine the links between human, animal and environmental health. Attendees at the opening session of the Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) Climate & One Health Conference. (Photo by: Shamar Blunt) The health minister asked: “What does it take to keep a population healthy when the conditions that support health are themselves under pressure? ” She pointed to water…