The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas is facing a critical shortage of developmental specialists and is experiencing an increase in children with disorders like autism and ADHD, according to paediatrician Dr Anthia Forbes Carey.

She said children with conditions are being referred to specialists abroad due to the lack of resources locally.  

“We also have to understand we do have a shortage in the subspecialty,” she said while speaking during the Free National Movement’s Women’s Association monthly meeting in Grand Bahama on Thursday evening. “So, we currently do not have an active developmental specialist. We do need one, but unfortunately, we don’t have one.”

Dr Forbes-Carey said while screening for developmental disorders can be done within local clinics, children who require follow-up care must be referred to specialists abroad. 

“There has been an uptick in pediatric patients who have disorders ie ADHD, autism, or some developmental delay and they do require follow-up care with a development specialist,” she said. “And currently, because we don’t have one in the country, even though we can do all of the screening in the clinic, they do require that follow-up, and we have to refer them to the Caribbean, US, Canada, and or the UK, depending on the parent’s choice in order for them to have access to that developmental specialist.”

The paediatrician also expressed concerns about young patients diagnosed with rare diseases or disorders requiring speciality care, which can be expensive for many families.

To address this issue, Dr Forbes Carey announced plans to establish a pediatric fund to help parents and patients access the necessary care.

“What I have been doing is reaching out to groups such as Rotary, the Pilot Club, and what I’ve been asking those organisations is that you don’t necessarily have to give us any money,” she said. “But if you were to create a line budget in your group and make a determination as to how much you are willing to contribute whenever there is a need for a child who may have a seizure disorder and may need to have some brain imaging and the parents cannot afford to fund it, we would present you, not specific details, but an overall view of what is needed from the patient, and you can decide how much you would like to contribute.”

Dr Forbes Carey hopes to expand this initiative in the future. “We are hoping to build it each year. If your association says, I am willing each year to have a line-item budget of $200, $2,000, $20,000, or $200,000, once we know that line item is available, whenever something comes up, we know exactly where to go in order to access that resource. And so that is pretty much the approach for now, but we are looking to expand that further.”

She highlighted a recent case involving a young patient in Grand Bahama diagnosed with a rare blood disorder which requires treatment three times per week in the hospital, costing between $100,000 to $300,000 per year.

“It is the only case in the country,” Dr Forbes Carey said, adding that she, a subspecialist in New Providence and a haematology oncologist, devised a diagnosis and a treatment plan.

Through the specialist’s connections with hospitals in the US and Canada, they have been receiving the patient’s medication for free, with shipments sent to New Providence every month.

“Of course, at some point, we know it is not an endless supply. But the treatments are very expensive, and we do have to come up with a long-term plan to address his healthcare needs,” she said.