As was the case in the immediate aftermath of the Delta wave of COVID-19, Barbadians are being told to brace for a spike in people needing urgent care for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) during the current surge of the Omicron variant.
The warning comes from director of medical services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Dr Clyde Cave, who said Barbados’ health system may be faced with a double barrel problem, given that the Omicron variant results in early kidney disease in some patients.
Cave, who was responding to questions during a televised COVID-19 update yesterday, said this could be an added strain on a system already fatigued by three waves of COVID-19 in the last two years.
“There may be an additional effect of the Omicron virus on the renal systems of persons it has infected. So we are now having two streams of persons who are in need of care – those with chronic non-communicable diseases who have gotten worse faster than expected because they have not availed themselves of the usual care, and those who have been relatively well but their whole system is now challenged with an Omicron infection.” (CLM)
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