Video summary
The Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Nutrition in Saint Lucia is actively collaborating with the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization to enhance the quality of mental health services while safeguarding human rights for patients. This initiative centers on a four-day training workshop titled "Improving Quality and Human Rights in Mental Health Facilities," which gathered key stakeholders to address critical gaps in care. The primary goal of this gathering is to foster a deeper understanding that effective mental health services must be accessible, clinically sound, and deeply respectful of the dignity, individual needs, and fundamental rights of every person seeking treatment.
A central theme of the training is the recognition that individuals with mental health conditions often face stigma, discrimination, exclusion, and coercion, which can severely discourage them from seeking help and erode trust in the healthcare system. Assistant Principal Nursing Officer Thecla Jn. Baptiste emphasized that addressing these violations is not merely a clinical duty but a crucial public health priority and a matter of human rights. Dr. Sharon Bellmar George, the Chief Medical Officer, reinforced this by stating that an honest assessment of the current system is essential to identify issues and ensure that policies translate into real-world improvements for patient care rather than just existing on paper.
The workshop aims to strengthen the capacity of health professionals to better promote and protect the rights of persons living with mental health conditions, building upon previous training phases conducted in October 2025. Director of Mental Health Services Dr. Naomi Sher Baptiste expressed confidence that the session would be both interesting and rewarding, offering valuable opportunities to deepen knowledge and enhance professional capabilities. By focusing on these areas, Saint Lucia hopes to create a healthcare environment where quality medical care and human rights protection go hand in hand, ensuring that the system is responsive to the people it serves.
Ultimately, this training represents a significant step forward for Saint Lucia as it continues to fortify its mental health infrastructure with international support from PAHO/WHO. The Ministry acknowledges that without taking an honest look at systemic gaps and addressing the root causes of rights violations, meaningful progress will remain out of reach. Through these concerted efforts, the ministry seeks to transform the landscape of mental health care in the region, ensuring that every individual receives treatment that upholds their dignity while providing effective clinical support.
Read the full video transcript
The Ministry of Health, Wellness, and
Nutrition in collaboration with the Pan
American Health Organization and the
World Health Organization, PAHO/WHO,
is taking steps to strengthen the
quality of mental health services and
promote the protection of human rights
for people accessing care across Saint
Lucia.
A four-day World Health Organization
Quality Rights Training Workshop brought
together key stakeholders under the
theme, "Improving Quality and Human
Rights in Mental Health Facilities."
The workshop forms part of efforts to
build greater awareness of the
importance of providing mental health
services that are not only accessible
and effective, but also respectful of
the dignity, rights, and individual
needs of every person.
For Saint Lucia, the training provides
an opportunity for health professionals
and other stakeholders to examine how
mental health services can be further
strengthened and made more responsive to
the people they serve.
During her remarks at the opening
ceremony, the Assistant Principal
Nursing Officer, Thecla Jn. Baptiste,
says improving mental health care
requires a broader understanding of the
needs and rights of the people accessing
services.
>> The Ministry acknowledges that people
with mental health conditions and
psychosocial disabilities
may experience stigma, discrimination,
exclusion,
coercion coercion, sorry,
and other violations of their rights.
These experiences can discourage persons
and their families from seeking care.
They can weaken the trust in the health
system and negatively affect recovery.
Addressing them is therefore not only a
clinical responsibility, as we often say
it,
it is a human rights
and also a public health priority.
>> According to the Chief Medical Officer,
Dr. Sharon Bellmar George, the Ministry
has already benefited from opportunities
to examine mental health systems both
locally and regionally, adding that an
assessment of the system is essential if
St. Lucia is to achieve meaningful
improvements in patient care.
>> And one of the things I've said to my
team,
if we are not prepared to take an honest
look at the system, see where the gaps
are, see where the issues are, we'll
never get to where we need to be. It's
easy to sit in a policy level and put
things in place,
and it's not working well on the ground
and think you're doing a good job.
Unless whatever we implement and
whatever policies we write show
improvements in patient care, we've not
done what we need to.
>> Director of Mental Health Services, Dr.
Naomi Sher Baptiste, says the training
provides another opportunity to
strengthen the capacity of health
professionals to promote and protect the
rights of people living with mental
health conditions.
>> [snorts]
>> I'm confident that you'll find this
training both interesting and rewarding,
just as many of us did when we
participated in the first phase
of the Quality Rights training in
October 2025.
I believe that this workshop will
provide another valuable opportunity to
deepen our knowledge and strengthen our
capacity
to promote and protect the rights of
persons with mental health conditions.
>> [snorts]
>> The Ministry of Health, Wellness, and
Nutrition greatly appreciates the
support of the Pan American Health
Organization
in facilitating this important activity.
>> As St. Lucia continues to strengthen its
mental health services, initiatives such
as the World Health Organization Quality
Rights training workshop are important
in promoting a system where quality care
and human rights go hand in hand.
From the communications unit of the
Ministry of Health, Wellness, and
Nutrition, I am Onika McCoy.