Dr. Slater: All is well with patients

Minister of Health Dr. Douglas Slater is reassuring relatives of patients currently in Cuba receiving medical attention that all is well.

In a statement made on Wednesday, Dr. Slater stated that some patients had to remain because of minor complications after surgery.{{more}}

He added that communication had not been frequent therefore relatives at home were becoming anxious.

Dr. Slater said from all reports “patients have been very well treated.” He said that the Ministry was not able to give a running update on every patient in Cuba. He then appealed to the public to be patient.

He stated that the programme, which is ongoing in other Caribbean islands, was introduced to improve the vision of the public. Dr. Slater said that the response had been overwhelming, and the demand for the service has been greater than anticipated.

He noted that the next few weeks would be used to screen students. This he explained, would tie in with the move to universal secondary education, which would be implemented in September 2005.(API)