CABINET NOTES: The Cabinet invited Dr. Edda Hadeed to its meeting to discuss Sickle Cell Anemia as a healthcare challenge in Antigua and Barbuda.
The Doctor pointed out that pain management is one of the greatest challenges faced by those who have the full blown disease.
Sickle Cell is inherited from parents and it is a blood condition with pain which affects all aspects of a patient’s life. During a crisis, oxygen is cut off in the blood; harm results to many of the organs within the body.
One out of every five persons in Antigua and Barbuda carries the trait, and about 1,000 sickle cell patients rely on medicines to help them to manage the pain.
The amount of morphine available in Antigua is determined by the Chief Pharmacist, who has responsibility to ensure that the morphine is used only by very sick patients.
The Cabinet agreed that a clinic dedicated to treating Sickle Cell patients, will be established on the Old Holberton Hospital grounds.
The primary objective is to arrange to treat the pain experienced by a patient during a crisis as quickly as possible, diverting the patients from the hospital; harm to the patients’ organs can be minimized by early pain management, the Cabinet was told.
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