Barbados has built universal health care, education and social protection, but the next challenge is making those systems speak to one another so no young person slips away unnoticed, Minister of Health and Wellness, Senator Lisa Cummins, has said.
She was speaking on Wednesday at the opening of a two-day Training of Trainers Workshop on the Appropriate Care of Adolescents, hosted by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Ministry of Health and Wellness at UN House, Christ Church.
Cummins described how a struggling student might be seen by a teacher, a doctor and a social worker, each doing their job well. Without collaboration, “this individual, this child, this girl or this boy, is inevitably likely to fall through the cracks”, she stated.
She noted that eight of the island’s nine polyclinics now offer adolescent health clinics, supported by a ten-year adolescent health strategy. However, she said that care must go beyond buildings. “It’s not enough to establish a clinic,” she said, pointing to the attitudes of staff, the way they communicate and the welcome of the physical space. For a young person unsure about seeking help, the minister said, the first visit matters most. “That first interaction with us can be decisive,” she said.
Speak openly
Cummins also made a case for long-term thinking, adding that boys should be encouraged to speak openly about their health. “Investments in adolescent health are investments in the future health of our adult population,” she highlighted.
The Minister of Health challenged participants to consider how they will communicate effectively with adolescents, recognise when a health concern is linked to circumstances at home, in school or in the community, and help establish national standards so that clinics deliver consistent quality across the island.
UNFPA Director and Representative of the Sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean, Beatrice Mutali, commended the ministry for developing the Barbados national standards for delivery of health services for adolescents, which calls for training trainers as a way of getting the standards into practice across the health system. Mutali noted that adolescents are not a uniform group and, while they readily seek care for common illnesses, “are far less likely to seek care for mental health and sexual and reproductive health services,” she said. She urged particular attention to adolescents living with disabilities, who can face inaccessible facilities and the denial of confidentiality and consent.
Mutali added that the true measure of success will come when a nervous adolescent walks into a clinic and meets a provider who listens with empathy and respects their confidentiality. “That single moment of trust is the outcome we are striving for,” she said.
(DDS)