Health in St Vincent and Grenadines

The Ministry of Health, Wellness, Environmental Health and Energy oversees public health services through Community Health Services, Hospital Services, Pharmaceutical Services, Mental Health Services and Environmental Health. The public network includes about 35 rural or district clinics, three polyclinics, five rural or district hospitals and the Mental Health Rehabilitation Centre and Lewis Punnett Home. Another official service page cites 39 Health Centres, so facility counts and opening arrangements should be confirmed locally. A district clinic or District Medical Officer is usually the first contact for routine care. Health centres and polyclinics provide medical clinics, treatment for minor ailments, dressings, screening, health education, counselling, disease surveillance, contact tracing, home visits, school and occupational health, psychiatric and dental services and emergency nursing. Georgetown, Chateaubelair, Cedars and Calliaqua are among the district access points. Bequia Hospital and Chateaubelair Hospital support island and district care, while the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital in Kingstown provides higher-level referral care. The Modern Medical and Diagnostic Centre in Georgetown provides diagnostics and treatment. Inter-island travel and transfer arrangements can affect access in the Grenadines. Routine clinic services are generally listed for Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 16:00, while Community Health Services also describes a 24-hour duty service. Because official pages are not fully consistent, confirm the current schedule before travelling. Special outpatient clinics commonly require an appointment and a referral from a District Medical Officer or another physician. Private doctors and non-governmental organisations provide additional access. Maternal and child services include antenatal care, a puerperal visit on the day after birth, a postnatal visit at six weeks, domiciliary midwifery, child health from two months, and growth and development checks. Public Health Centres provide government immunisation without charge. The listed schedule includes BCG at birth to one month, pentavalent and polio vaccines at two, four and six months, MMR at 12 months, boosters at 18 to 24 months and four to five years, and diphtheria-tetanus vaccination at 10 to 15 years. Health Centres also provide family planning, contraception, sterilisation counselling, cervical and prostate screening, adolescent health services and STI and HIV testing through public and community pathways. Primary care places strong emphasis on hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, ageing, mental health, maternal and child health, vaccination and communicable-disease surveillance. PAHO reported that non-communicable diseases caused 79.1% of deaths in 2019. The same research profile reported overweight or obesity in 61.5% of people aged 15 and older in 2022, hypertension in 23.3% of adults in 2015 and diabetes in 10.6% in 2014. These dated figures describe population patterns rather than a current personal diagnosis. Accident and Emergency, abbreviated A&E, provides urgent assessment and treatment. A&E services are available in all districts, with the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital providing 24-hour care for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular emergencies, strokes, accidents, trauma, asthma and other urgent conditions. The Milton Cato Memorial Hospital and Modern Medical and Diagnostic Centre provide 24-hour laboratory and diagnostic services. Twenty-four-hour X-ray and ultrasound services are also listed for these facilities, Levi Latham Health Clinic and Buccament Polyclinic. The Milton Cato Memorial Hospital A&E telephone number is (784) 456-1955. No single national ambulance number was verified in the reviewed official sources. The Milton Cato Memorial Hospital provides general medicine, dermatology, general surgery, laboratory services, pharmacy, radiology, physiotherapy and nutrition. Visiting specialists, special procedures and regional paediatric services may be available, but advanced treatment can require referral to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, a visiting specialist or a regional facility. Confirm current availability before arranging travel. Government Pharmaceutical Services procure, manage and dispense medicines and supplies for the public sector. Pharmacies at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital and Modern Medical and Diagnostic Centre, the Community Pharmacy Division and Central Medical Stores support dispensing and counselling. Pharmacists in district facilities support hypertension and diabetes treatment, medication reconciliation and adherence. They can compound a medicine when it is unavailable and no suitable alternative exists, and they receive reports of suspected adverse drug reactions through the SVG Pharmacovigilance & Drug Information Centre. Travellers carrying regular prescription medicines should have a physician letter, a prescription stating the medicine name, strength and quantity, and relevant travel details. Narcotic or psychotropic medicines for personal import require prior Ministry of Health approval through a physician and the Chief Medical Officer. The Mental Health Centre provides inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care. Services include weekly hospital follow-up, two physician outpatient clinics each week, community psychiatric clinics, liaison psychiatry at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, detoxification and partial rehabilitation. No separate drug-rehabilitation centre was identified in the reviewed official information. Police involvement, rural transport and staffing can affect mental-health access. Patients can participate in discharge planning, request a medically indicated referral or transfer to another facility, review their records and receive an explanation of an itemised bill. Follow-up may continue through a district clinic, community psychiatric clinic, home visit, physiotherapy or rehabilitation service. Community nurses follow up missed maternal-health and immunisation visits. Patients should disclose previous illness, hospitalisation and medicines, bring relevant records and prescriptions, follow facility rules, attend scheduled follow-up and report suspected adverse drug reactions. Health services should respect dignity, privacy, confidentiality, understandable information about diagnosis and treatment, informed consent including risks, alternatives and financial implications, and the right to refuse treatment or research. Privacy can be limited by reporting duties concerning abuse, legal requirements or health hazards. Public hospitals list fees for inpatient and outpatient services, and bills are normally settled within 28 days after discharge with a stated 15% surcharge after that period. Clinical-need access is described as available regardless of ability to pay, but exact charges and payment arrangements should be confirmed with the facility. Visitors are included in the published 24-hour emergency notice.