Health Minister plans $4m saving at CDAP

Minister of Health Lackram Bodoe at a post-cabinet media briefing, Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's on August 7. -

HEALTH Minister Dr Lackram Bodoe announced an anticipated savings of $4 million by changing some of the drugs ordered on the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP), while declaring, "CDAP is here to stay." He spoke at the post-Cabinet briefing the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's, on August 7.

He said CDAP treats 11 chronic illnesses, using 52 items/drugs and 230 pharmacies. While CDAP was established in 2003, in June he set up a CDAP Review Committee to look at CDAP.

Bodoe announced several new drugs for cardio-vascular treatment and mental treatment.

He announced Risperdal (properly known as Risperidone) as an anti-psychotic drug to improve mental health.

Bodoe said Crestor (Rosuvastatin) would replace Simvastatin for cardio-vascular treatment.

He introduced two new cardio-vascular drugs namely Plavix (Clopidogrel) and Cozaar (Losartan).

Bodoe also boasted of a 70 per cent saving on the cost of glucose testing strips used by people with diabetes in their glucose monitor devices.

From a current cost of $1.15 per unit, this cost will fall to $0.34 based on less costly imports from India. The replacement strips were ISO-certified and WHO-approved, he said.

Bodoe announced a CDAP-Plus scheme to supply specialist medicines to patients, to be enacted by year-end.

Promising to enhance public access to CDAP in rural areas, he vowed to remove a $68,000 entry fee to the programme payable by individual pharmacies.

He said pharmacies will now be able to take part in the CDAP programme by accessing it via their own hardware, with CDAP to provide the software.

Bodoe promised to also improve the CDAP programmes's inventory management, saying he would examine a 2015 report on supply-chain issues so as to try to bridge a current disconnect in the CDAP system. He said the CDAP bill had grown in recent years from $48 million (2021), $52million (2022), $54 million (2023), $53 million (2024) and $40 million (2025 so far).

"So it is a considerable cost to the taxpayer."

He said he would ask Cabinet to ring fence the funds to buy anti-cancer drugs in the national budget.

Bodoe announced the state of medical professionals in TT. He noted 587 applications for employment filed by new doctors. However he said the TT health sector now has 1,800 vacancies for nurses. The minister said new boards had been installed at the South West, Eastern and North West Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) but not in the North Central RHA.

Of the catherisation (cat) labs used for cardio-vascular conditions, he said the Eric Williams Medical Science Complex had two labs which were underused rendering him optimistic, while he hoped to provide one to the SWRHA.