COULD A MANDATORY HEALTH PROTOCOL have saved the life of Prime Minister David Thompson?
Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis Dr Denzil Douglas could not answer that question, but he asserted that regional leaders needed to stick to some of the basic principles which their governments often enunciated for the people whom they govern.
Speaking to the SATURDAY SUN yesterday during a break from an official engagement at the Caribbean Development Bank, Douglas said it was critical that regional leaders recognised the importance of the spectrum of chronic non-communicable diseases, as well as communicable diseases, which were now in the region and which had become of epidemic proportions.
“We have been advocating, at least three years ago . . . we have raised this matter of cancers, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity, and we keep saying that we must know our health status,” said Douglas, who is a medical doctor.
Douglas, who has lead responsibility within the CARICOM quasi cabinet for health, said sometimes there were conditions which might not be preventable, but which, if detected early through proper annual checks, could be better managed and lead to greater longevity.
“What has happened to David [Thompson], Prime Minister of Barbados, is unfortunate. I am sure he had that sense of keenness with regard to the importance of regular checks.”
Douglas said that there was a structure in place in his St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party where the health status of prospective election candidates was seriously looked at during the selection process.
He added: “What we had in St Kitts and Nevis, before I came into office, ministers generally did not have a vacation schedule.
“Each minister must now have his vacation and by doing that one encourages them to be aware of the need for adequate rest and down-time so you can spend time with your family and look after your health. We are getting close to that as a protocol within the Caribbean region at this time.”
But his Anguillan counterpart, Chief Minister Hubert Hughes, differs on the prescription for tackling leaders’ health.
He told the?SATURDAY SUN?that the health of a prime minister should not become a national issue unless there were visible signs of sickness.
Hughes, who is in his 70s, strongly argued that if a leader was not healthy, “it will be seen in his behaviour or his productivity . . . but as long as the performance remains up to par, I don’t see there is an issue”.
The Chief Minister, who is married to a Barbadian, recalled that “nobody knew that (late) Prime Minister Tom Adams was sick to that extent when he died”.
He added: “Thompson took ill with an incurable situation which no one anticipated and therefore it cannot be attributed to being loose (with) respect to his health.”
