Abstract
The Cancer Society of the Bahamas has to come out and deal with the increasing cases of cancer in Bahamas. A lot of patients require quick medical attention from qualified oncologists. The patients also need chemotherapy sessions although there are high cases of second and third line treatments. Therefore, there is much pressure on the Bahamas society to deliver a chemotherapy unit and qualified medical personnel to the cancer patients in Bahamas. With the guidelines released from the Department of Health’s Manual for Cancer Services, the society is continually seeking means of improving and developing the cancer care provided at the cancer care unit. However, the process of receiving chemotherapy units has been considered a high risk area. Therefore, this project was written to determine the operations of the Bahamas hospital and how to improve the services offered at the unit while at the same time reducing the risks involved.
Any cancer center across the world requires much care and consideration from the government and the department of health. Many people across the globe die because of cancer and lack of enough resources and machinery to handle the disease. One of the centers that offer services on cancer is the Cancer Society in the Bahamas. One way of improving services offered by the society is by providing a state of the art technology. According to research, there should be a strong connection between all the medical care personnel. They should all coordinate to have a strong and working team which delivers its goals effectively. In addition to equipping the Princess Margaret Hospital, the society should consider opening other cancer facilities within the regions. Opening other branches will ease the pressure and congestion that is experienced at the Princess Margaret Hospital. In addition to coming up with other facilities, the society should make sure that it has enough funds and personnel to procure well equipped equipment that are to be used for chemotherapy. With a large number of reported cancer cases, the society should increase its house unit to hold more patients who do not have homes to go. Cancer patients who are provided with free treatment and are accommodated should be used to provide awareness to the communities. The patients should give back to the society by participating in programs that are meant to educate the communities on the importance of taking early diagnosis and so on and so forth. Although the society funds all the operations of Princess Margaret Hospital, it should consider charging cancer patients a certain percentage of the hospital bill. This way, both the society and the patients benefit. Although it is registered as a non-profit organization, it should consider partnering with the government to provide help to the cancer patients. This is because sometimes donors may be reluctant to support. The society will more effective and reliable if it has the backing of the government.
The Bahamas cancer society should consider going international with its services. In terms of fundraisers and donations, the society should appeal to different parts of the world to come and help the cancer society. Upon receiving the funds, the society should put up other cancer centers in cancer prone regions like Africa where there are not cancer care facilities. Most of the Africans seek medical attention from other countries like India. Besides putting up other cancer care centers, the society should ensure a proper training of its personnel and professionals. Cancer patients require sensitive care which can only be provided by trained medical practitioners. Further, the society should scrutinize the relationships between the inputs and the outputs within the care delivery system. It should compare the resources allocated to the facilities with the associated costs and the level of outcome that is achieved from the treatment of the patients. It should ensure that there are areas for the development of the efficiency measure for the cancer which ought to support a reduction in the costs and an improved patient care. The society should investigate the patients’ perception-of-care measures. This accesses the satisfaction of the patients after they leave the health center. By so doing, the society gets a clear picture of what it can improve in patient handling so that better outcomes are achieved. Although the most part of the patients’ restoration of health, also patients’ satisfaction throughout the period of care is equally important. This is specifically important to cancer patients because their treatment maybe noncurative. These are some of the suggestions that I would give to the Bahamas society which provides care to the cancer patients. If it aspires to improve its services, then it should consider implementing the above suggestions.
