The number of residents in need of dialysis could soon eclipse the territory’s ability to administer the treatment, BVI Health Services Authority CEO Dr. June Samuel warned Friday at the Dr. D. Orlando Smith Hospital.
“This is a public health emergency,” she said.
Dr. Samuel was speaking at the launch of the Red Loud campaign, an initiative designed to educate the public on kidney problems and other noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and hypertension.
“At the time that we started [the nephrology] clinic, we had four patients. We now have 183 patients in that clinic,” Dr. Samuel told about a dozen stakeholders who attended the event. “For each clinic day, [the nephrologist] sees 10 to 12 patients. Of that group of 183 patients, we have 16 patients who are at stage five of chronic kidney disease.”
Dialysis unit at capacity
Fifty-four of the 183 patients already receive regular dialysis treatment, but Dr. Samuel said simply adding “more chairs” is the wrong approach.
“We cannot afford to continue in this way. We absolutely cannot. At this point in time, we consider our dialysis unit to be at capacity,” the CEO said Friday. “While the ministry has been very supportive … in providing resources for us to expand the unit and to have additional chairs, that is not the answer.”
Instead of an ever-expanding dialysis unit, Dr. Samuel said, the BVIHSA’s Red Loud campaign attacks the VI’s “public health emergency” at its source by educating the public about healthy habits.
“Red Loud is about urgency,” Dr. Samuel said. “It is about action that needs to be taken, and it will provide the community with information to encourage them to take changes in their own lives so that they will not end up on dialysis.”
Taxpayer cost
The growing financial burden of dialysis is shared across the VI, according to the CEO.
One year of dialysis treatment costs at least $150,000 per patient, about $70,000 of which is covered by National Health Insurance, Dr. Samuel said.
“That cost is only for the patients to come to dialysis three days a week and sit on the machine for three to four hours: $150,000 per patient, per year,” Dr. Samuel said. “That does not include the cost for medications. The medications for these patients are very expensive. They have to do labs every month — a whole battery of labs every month.”
The cost of treatment not covered by NHI falls to the patient, but Dr. Samuel told the Beacon that the BVIHSA ensures that everyone receives treatment even if they can’t immediately afford the cost. The youngest dialysis patient in the territory is 33 years old, she said.
New website
A key prong of the Red Loud campaign is a new online resource centre at the website redloud.bvihsa.vg that provides free tools designed to help residents lead a healthier life.
The website, which launched Friday, includes links to pages with nutrition information as well as weight-loss and exercise tools for children and adults.
To get younger residents involved and informed about the risks that lead to kidney disease, the website offers opportunities to win “Robux,” a type of videogame currency.
The site even features a children’s book that focuses on healthy living, written especially for the VI. It also includes a schedule of health-focused events to be held on Tortola and the sister islands in the coming weeks.
‘It’s not a fad’
Also at the launch, businessman Mark Vanterpool announced that his One Mart stores will each implement a “Red Loud” section with products that adhere to a dieting plan adopted from the United States National Institutes of Health.
“It’s not a fad, it’s not a trend,” Mr. Vanterpool said. “It’s a practical, sustainable way of eating that emphasises fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and low-fat dairy, while limiting sodium, sugar and unhealthy fats.”
‘It shocked me’
He added that the territory’s present situation is a far cry from what he handled during his former time on the Social Security Board.
“I was alarmed at your numbers — I must say that it shocked me,” Mr. Vanterpool said. “I go back from the days when I sat on the board of the social security, and we were trying to figure out how to prevent [kidney] patients from going to St. Thomas on the boat every day [for dialysis].”
Other speakers at the launch included Health and Social Development Minister Vincent Wheatley and BVIHSA Board Member John Cline.
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