The public, primary healthcare sector of The Bahamas got a big “shot in the arm” recently with the successful recruitment of 12 physicians who will be posted to the Family Islands.

Public healthcare officials were also able to successfully recruit four Bahamian graduates who were among those recording the highest academic results from the University of West Indies’ Doctor of Medicine (DM) Post Graduate Family Medicine Training Programme Examinations that were held this past June.

Dr. Glen Beneby, Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health, said, July 6, that the successful recruitment of the physicians will allow officials of the Ministry of Health and the Department of Public Health to post the new physicians to a number of key Family Islands. These include the larger islands such as San Salvador, Abaco and Exuma.

The successful recruitment process comes as the Ministry, the Department of Public Health and the Government of The Bahamas prepares to launch Universal Health Coverage for all Bahamians through the National Health Insurance Initiative scheduled to come on stream in January 2016.

“This gives us the privilege of putting the qualified persons in the larger Family Islands such as San Salvador, Abaco and Exuma in key positions to help us not just to provide doctors in the Family islands, but doctors in those islands who can supervise junior doctors and this opens up other opportunities for us,” Dr. Beneby said.

“Through those added opportunities we can now rotate doctors in training at the undergraduate level (Medical Students) into the Family Islands and we can also allow persons in their post graduate training to stay in the Family Islands because we have qualified, trained physicians in the key Family Islands to oversee them,” Dr. Beneby added.

The Chief Medical Officer said the new flexibility will enhance the country’s healthcare in those islands where the Ministry will open new clinics – areas such as Abaco where a hospital/clinic will be opened, in addition to Exuma.

“We are very pleased to be in the position to upgrade the quality and quantity and of services to our population in the Family Islands,” Dr. Beneby said. “These doctors who will be assigned to the larger clinics in those islands will be bringing certain skills with them which now means that certain tests that Family Island patients now have to fly into New Providence for, can now be conducted in the Public Clinic on those islands. Certain basic procedures such as the removal of a lump or a bump for diagnostic or curative reasons can now also be done in the Family Islands.”

The Chief Medical Officer said the acquisition and positioning of the doctors will also have a positive impact on post-operative care in the Family Islands.

“Sometimes people travel to Nassau after surgery just to see the doctor. They do not have any complications, but they need to have a physician’s appointment. This now gives us options as to whether we now fly them to Nassau or whether we have the specialist physician conduct a clinic in the Family Islands.”

Another major upgrade as a result of the hirings, relates to follow-up care.

“A patient can now have their operation in New Providence, and pass on their follow-up care to the physician to be completed in the Family Islands.”

That process now has an added benefit for Family Island patients.

“We can now discharge a patient who we may have had to keep for a week after two or three days because they now have a doctor on that island who can follow up, liaise with a doctor in New Providence and the quality of care is standardized.

“So it really now begins to set the stage for National Health Insurance/Universal health Coverage and this is a series of steps that we are making as we move towards next year and National Health Insurance,” Dr. Beneby added.