QEH begins newborn screening

A nationwide newborn screening programme has begun at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, with health officials aiming to detect serious conditions at birth and improve long-term outcomes for thousands of children.

The screening, which began on May 18, is being offered to all babies born at the QEH through a simple heel-prick blood test administered within the first 24 to 48 hours after birth.

Supported by a grant from the Shaw Centre for Paediatric Excellence and backed by hospital leadership, the initiative is expected to screen approximately 5 000 newborns during its initial pilot phase.

In an announcement posted on the hospital’s website, head of paediatrics Dr Gillian Birchwood described the test – known as the Comprehensive Dried Blood Spot (DBS) Newborn Screening Programme – as a major advancement in healthcare for the island’s youngest citizens.

“We are so pleased to announce that we have embarked on a groundbreaking partnership with the Shaw Centre for Paediatric Excellence and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which is going to allow us to conduct comprehensive newborn screening on all of the babies born at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital over the next couple of years,” she said.

Dr Birchwood explained that newborn screening is widely regarded as one of the most significant public health developments of the last century because it enables doctors to identify serious medical conditions before symptoms appear.

“This pilot programme is very important,” she said. “Tests are done on a newborn to detect conditions which can affect the child later in life and prevent the child from developing symptoms or permanent consequences if there is delayed detection.”

According to the paediatric specialist, early diagnosis can help prevent developmental challenges, hearing impairments and potentially life-threatening illnesses that may not be apparent at birth.

“It has the potential to prevent a child from developing problems like abnormal development, abnormal hearing or life-threatening conditions because they can be detected much earlier,” she noted.

Dr Birchwood also highlighted the programme’s significance within the wider Caribbean, describing it as a pioneering initiative unmatched elsewhere in the region.

“It is groundbreaking in the Caribbean. There is no other Caribbean country which has a comprehensive newborn screening programme as we are fortunate to have in Barbados,” she said.

The initiative strengthens the QEH’s role in paediatric healthcare and will help improve long-term outcomes for children, she added.

“This positions the Queen Elizabeth Hospital as a leader in the region in providing newborn health and ultimately paediatric care. We will be able to prevent children from developing devastating consequences and complications of illnesses that we are simply not able to see at the time of birth.” 

In 2020, the government launched the Shaw Centre, a partnership with the Centre for Global Child Health at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Canada’s leading paediatric teaching hospital. The goal is to have a positive impact on the health and well-being of children in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. 

Officials are hoping the screening programme will position Barbados as a regional leader in preventive child health services.

(SB)