(Trinidad Express) The North Central Regional Health Authority’s (NCRHA) Cardiology Primary Care Clinic (CPCC) has brought access to specialist heart care services to communities across the country, which were previously exclusive to hospitals.
The NCRHA stated on Friday in a media release that the programme has so far serviced some 2,000 patients, by bringing specialist services to health centres around Trinidad and Tobago.
The Authority explained that the CPCC was “established with the aim of providing specialist follow-up care closer to the people within the community”.
“It is a patient-centred initiative that provides persons who are predisposed to heart illnesses with personalised care, specialist consultations and screenings, check-ups, and medication,” the NCRHA added.
Since its inception, the CPCC has provided “quality heart care services” to about 2,000 patients.
Primary healthcare services general manager Dr Abdul Hamid stated that the implementation of the CPCC at the Chaguanas District Health Facility (CDHF) and the Arima District Health Facility (ADHF) on Wednesdays, as well as the St Joseph Enhanced Health Facility (SJEHF) on Mondays, has “successfully reduced patient throughput at the Cardiology Clinic at Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex”.
He stated that while supporting tertiary cardiology services, “we have simultaneously created a system that allows our patients to receive frequent and convenient specialist cardiac care and chronic disease medications in three main peripheral areas”.
Hamid stated that the Authority was “determined to make healthcare available and easily accessible to those in need.”
“Once a patient is discharged from the cardiology clinic at Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex and meets the criteria to join the Cardiology Pri-mary Care Clinic, they will be referred to a CPCC in their area,” he explained.
The CPCC provides patients with follow-up specialist heart care, chronic disease medications to self-manage at home, health education, screenings and check-ups, among other services, the NCRHA said.
“Essentially, our senior primary care medical professionals ensure the continuing health and well-being of cardiology patients in an attempt to reduce return visits to the cardiology clinic at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, or worse, the Accident and Emergency Department,” Hamid stated.
He added: “We have strategically implemented a number of disruptive innovations and patient-centred systems to combat the high incidence and progression of non-communicable diseases in Trinidad and Tobago, and the Cardiology Primary Care Clinic is yet another.”
He stated through this initiative “our beloved patients are ensured more frequent follow-up through scheduled consultations; increased access and availability due to clinics taking place on a weekly basis in Chaguanas, Arima, St Joseph and this in turn has allowed for reduced waiting times, as they do not have to commute solely to the EWMSC for treatment and services, as we have now successfully decentralised the service.”
Hamid extended “special commendations” to the “team of nursing and medical professionals, as well as the auxiliary staff, who go above and beyond to ensure the Cardiology Primary Care Clinic continues to provide impeccable care to our service users”.
NCRHA CEO Davlin Thomas stated in the release: “We are more than just healthcare providers. We are a force for good, preventative and holistic care.”
