New Chinese medical team welcomed as decade-long health partnership deepens

Barbados has marked a decade of medical cooperation with China by welcoming the eighth team of healthcare specialists to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, continuing a partnership officials describe as transformative for the island’s health system.

The new team of skilled professionals includes a neonatal nurse, cardiovascular surgeon, anaesthesiologist, cardiologist, joint surgeon, nuclear medicine physician, ultrasound diagnostic physician and acupuncturist.

“Over the years, Chinese healthcare professionals have played an invaluable role in enhancing medical services, sharing knowledge and strengthening institutional cooperation within our healthcare sector,” health minister Davidson Ishmael said. “Your presence is deeply appreciated by both our healthcare workers and the wider Barbadian community.”

The hospital’s acting chief of operations, Louise Bobb, praised the cultural exchange and transfer of knowledge over the past decade. She highlighted the preceding seventh team’s contributions across eight specialised clinical areas – from complex coronary intervention therapies to integrating traditional Chinese medicine in rehabilitation, assisting stroke patients and providing Mandarin-language training to staff.

“The impact of your service was so profound that if certain departments had their way, the team would have gone home short of many members,” Bobb said. She welcomed the eighth Chinese medical team, encouraging them to continue the legacy.

“So now you’ve passed the baton to your colleagues at the eighth Chinese medical team,” she added. “I am confident that you will successfully fill the running shoes of your predecessors and keep that baton smoothly travelling around the track.”

Ambassador Zheng Bingkai underscored the importance of ongoing cooperation in healthcare between the two nations: “This experience will be unforgettable. Let’s work together to make this shining light even brighter and more significant in terms of our cooperation.”

He emphasised that the partnership would continue to grow, with the ultimate goal of mutually benefiting Barbadians. “The goal is ultimate good — no limitation,” he said.

Ishmael detailed some of the seventh team’s achievements over the past year, including promoting the standardised use of ultrasound technology, evaluating vascular access, collaborating on complex coronary interventions, launching innovative diagnostic projects and introducing ultrasound-guided nerve block techniques to optimise patient care.

He also noted the integration of traditional Chinese medicine into modern rehabilitation, applying acupuncture to improve stroke patients’ functional recovery. The team additionally shared expertise in below-the-knee artery balloon angioplasty and advanced neonatal care.

“These are just a few of the many ways in which you have assisted us over the past 12 months,” Ishmael said. “We look forward to this collaboration continuing as we welcome the eighth cohort to Barbados.”

(LG)