PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands; Saturday, June 13th 2009 – Deputy Premier, and Minister for Finance and Health, Hon. Royal Robinson – will be attending the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC)-CARICOM Ministers Summit at the Accra Beach Hotel and Spa in Barbados next week.
The regional Summit for health ministers and senior officials on “Strengthening Healthcare Delivery in the Caribbean – The Role of Infrastructure, eHealth and Clinical Management” - will take place 15 – 16th June 2009 in Bridgetown, Barbados, is being hosted by the Barbados Government in collaboration with CARICOM Secretariat.
While there, Hon. Robinson will give an address on priorities for the Turks and Caicos Islands in a Plenary Session – Identifying Priorities for Healthcare Infrastructure and eHealth on Monday, June 15th. In his presentation, Hon. Robinson will outline the Turks and Caicos Islands Government’s (TCIG) priorities for healthcare, infrastructure development and eHealth, along with identifying policy objectives and practical considerations for the further development of healthcare infrastructure, including resource considerations, strategies for achieving the objectives, constraints and potential partnerships to achieve effective delivery.
On the Tuesday, June 16th, the Hon. Deputy Premier will speak at a Plenary Session – Best Practice Examples– Case Studies: where in which he will highlight the Turks and Caicos Hospital Project, TCIG’s single biggest capital investment, giving an insight into its financing, composition, management and the range of comprehensive health care services to be provided.
The objective of the CBC-CARICOM summit is to identify the opportunities and challenges for delivering effective healthcare in the region, drawing on practical solutions through strengthened healthcare infrastructure, eHealth and clinical management. It is hoped that by the conclusion of this event, the key objective is that attending ministers, senior officials, and representatives from health agencies and the private sector across the Caribbean region will have a much clearer idea of how to develop programmes and partnerships to successfully implement healthcare infrastructure and eHealth policies and solutions.
The CBC acts as a bridge for co-operation between business and government, concentrating on efforts to help remove barriers to trade, mobilise investment into Commonwealth countries, foster a good environment for business and investment, promote good practice in corporate governance and corporate citizenship, and facilitate the engagement of the private sector in information communication technology for development initiatives, especially in least developed countries.
The Summit will see to a series of workshops which will speak to address: legal and policy frameworks and private public partnerships; project planning; financing; design and construction; facilities management; procurement; medical equipment; hospital information systems (electronic patient records; imaging; picture archiving and communication systems); clinical management; collaborative patient care; and telemedicine.
Following on from the event, the Commonwealth Business Council will assist with developing strategies in direct collaboration with the relevant Ministries and the most appropriate private sector stakeholders, with a view to successfully addressing country-specific requirements or priorities.
Deputy Premier Robinson departs for Barbados today, Saturday, June 13th, is expected back in the TCI on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009.
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