Healthcare Scenario of Bahamas
Are you planning to build or restructure or venture in any healthcare venture in the Bahamas? Looking for information about the major healthcare players in Government, Private diagnostic centres that are available in the Bahamas? Are you looking to find out which part of the of the city’s is best to venture in or what all facilities are available and what all should be planned for new setup? In this article Hospaccx Healthcare Consultancy has mapped all on major players in terms of medical facilities and healthcare scenario in Bahamas.
Below is the superficial and macro level survey if you need a refined market and financial feasibility or any other study related to healthcare is required you can contact Hospaccx Healthcare business consulting Pvt. ltd on hospaccx.india@gmail.com Or you can visit our website on www.hospaccxconsulting.com
Overview of the Country
The Bahamas, also called as the Commonwealth of the Bahamas is a beautiful island located in the Atlantic Ocean in North America. The Bahamas is spread over an area of 13878 km sq with 700 islands with only 30 being inhabited, and over 2,400 rocks and cays. It ranks 161st in terms of area in the world. Due to the many widespread islands it has the 41st largest Exclusive Economic Zone.
The largest city and the capital city of Bahamas is Nassau. It is also known for being the chief resort destination in the world. It constitutes 70% of the total population of Bahamas.
Population Mix
The Bahamas has a population of 400,929 and accounts for 0.01% of the total world population. The population density in the Bahamas is 39 people per km2 (101 people per mi2), calculated on a total land area of 10,010 sq. km.
The sex ratio in the Bahamas is 0.95 males per 1000 females (957 males per 1000 females)
Adult literacy of the Bahamas is 95%.
English is the official language of the Archipelago though some French and Creole are also spoken by the African Bahamians and the Haitian immigrants
Religion in the Bahamas is dominated by protestants followed by Roman Catholic, Other Christians, and others.
Fig.1 Religion followed in the Bahamas
Fig.2 Age-wise distribution of the population in the Bahamas
Fig.3 The ethnicity in the Bahamas constitutes mainly Africans, followed by Europeans, Latin Americans, and Asians
Some Important Statistics
Connectivity
The major gateways to the Bahamas include Lynden Pindling International Airport on New Providence Island, and Freeport Grand Bahama International Airport on Grand Bahama Island. Air service to the Bahamas varies seasonally, with the biggest choice of flights usually available in the Christmas to Easter window.
Top Corporates in the Bahamas
- KPMG
- IBM
- SCOTIABANK
- RBC
- EY
- PwC
Economy of Bahamas
The Bahamas has the second highest per capita GDP in the English-speaking Caribbean with an economy largely dominated by two sectors: Tourism and financial services. GDP per capita in Bahamas is expected to reach 26,800 USD in 2022. Tourism contributes majorly to the archipelago’s economy followed by financial services. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute around 7% to the economy.
Healthcare in Bahamas
Healthcare in the Bahamas is equally accessible to all, tourists, immigrants and citizens. Healthcare in the Bahamas is dominated by the public health sector. Current health expenditure as a percentage of GDP is 5.67%.
Fig.4 Spending on Healthcare in the Bahamas
NCDs account for 74% of the all the deaths. The Bahamas ranks as the sixth most obese nation globally. The cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and nutrition conditions accounts for 16.9 % of the total deaths. As the islands are susceptible to many natural disasters like hurricanes, storms and earthquakes vector borne diseases can also be seen here.
Most common diseases in the Bahamas are:
- Hypertension
- Ischaemic heart disease
- Cerebrovascular diseases
- HIV/AIDS
- Diabetes
Medical Schools in the Bahamas:
| Major Medical Schools in Bahamas are | Establishment year |
| Ross University Medical School | Est in 1978 |
| University of the West Indies, School of Clinical Medicine & Research | Est in 1997 |
Major Public Hospitals in the Bahamas
Healthcare in the Bahamas is majorly managed by the public health sector with 3 major public hospitals. Princess Margaret Hospital: 415 beds
The Princess Margaret Hospital is the country’s largest health facility, built in 1952 and providing a comprehensive range of general and specialized services within inpatient and outpatient settings. The facility has a total of 415 inpatient beds. There are two private wards with a total of 31 beds, that has an average 73% occupancy annually. Out-patient services activity is very high and includes a general practice/primary care clinic with over 26,000 patient visits annually and specialty clinics with nearly 59,000 visits annually. Diagnostic Services, which includes Imaging Services, the Laboratory, and Pharmacy Services provide both inpatient and outpatient diagnostic capacity. Imaging services includes a mammogram machine and a 16-slice CT scan machine. The Laboratory Department includes a blood bank and provides services to all public sector service areas in New Providence and the Family Islands (excluding Grand Bahama).
Rand Memorial Hospital: 85 beds
The Rand Memorial Hospital provides general acute care as well as full-time services in selected specialties, has 86 beds and a staff population of 721. The hospital also serves as a primary health care centre for the Freeport area, with nearly 72,000 annual outpatient visits, including emergency room, general practice and specialty clinics services.
Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre: 377 bed in psychiatric hospital and 128 bed in geriatric facility
Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre is the Bahamas’ national resource for psychiatric, geriatric and substance abuse services. The Centre is located in the eastern district of New Providence on Fox Hill Road and consists primarily of two Hospitals: a geriatric hospital, with 128 beds in five inpatient wards, which cares for the elderly with medical, social and psychiatric problems, and the psychiatric hospital with 377 beds in nine inpatient psychiatric wards and three substance abuse wards that cares for children, adolescents and adults with mental, physical and addiction challenges.
Major Private Hospitals in the Bahamas
Doctors Hospital: 72 beds
The Doctors Hospital is a JCI accredited 72-beded modern acute care privately-owned health care facility in Nassau with over 400 employees. There are approximately 150 physicians on staff or with admitting privileges, most of whom are consultants of the Public Hospitals Authority with rights to private practice. There are three operating rooms, one with laminar flow, intensive care unit with eight beds, maternity suite with 14 beds, nuclear medicine and electroencephalography
Lyford Cay Hospital: 12 beds
Lyford Cay Hospital, which incorporates the Bahamas Heart Institute, is a 12-bed day hospital, including a three-bed coronary care unit and four-bed telemetry unit. Among the units are an operating theatre, x-ray and laboratory as well as an emergency room with a doctor on call 24 hours. Specialist treatment is offered in cardiology, internal medicine, family practice, plastic surgery, gynaecology, and stress echocardiography.
Additionally, there are 55 health centres, 59 satellite clinics and 288 privately-owned institutions across the islands.
National Health Insurance
Before to the Nation Health Insurance implementation in the Bahamas, only 3 out of 10 people had health insurance. The National Health Insurance (NHI) in the Bahamas was introduced in the year 2017. NHI in its initial phase of coverage and covers only Primary Health Care services. People do not have to pay at the point of service for Primary Care. The National Insurance Board provides ten cash benefits, four cash assistances, and one benefit-in-kind. The benefits are paid in respect of Sickness, Maternity, Funeral, Retirement, Invalidity, Survivorship, Unemployment, Injury, Disablement, and Death. NHI is an effort by the Bahamian government to ensure Universal Health Coverage and since its implementation 3 years ago over 70% of the population is insures with NHI.
Major Diagnostic centers in the Bahamas
St. Luke’s Diagnostic centre
Fourth Terrace Diagnostic centre
Advance Diagnostic centre
Alpha Medical and Analytical Laboratory
Bonaventure Medical Laboratory
Kelso Medical Laborator
Conclusion
The health sector in the Bahamas is multidimensional, multi-faceted, and dispersed both geographically and across agencies. The Bahamas has had progressive growth in its economy for over a decade. Working together, the public sector and the private sector will help improve the current health care infrastructure, bringing services closer to communities and increase accessibility.
If you need any support in planning and designing of a new hospital you can contact us: Hospaccx healthcare business consulting Pvt. Ltd on: hospaccx.india@gmail.com . Or you can visit our website:www.hospaccxconsulting.com
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