Expenditure on health per capita in 2014 was $1,014, 7.5% of GDP.[2] The country has above the average ratio of health care professionals to population.[3]
All Barbadian citizens are covered by Universal health care. Barbados has eight polyclinics throughout the country, 5 Geriatric hospitals for care of the elderly, and a network of Child Care facilities, in addition to the main Queen Elizabeth Hospital (General Hospital) located in Bridgetown.[4]
There are private medical clinics, including the Sandy Crest Medical Centre on the west coast, and the FMH Emergency Medical Clinic, just outside Bridgetown.
The Barbados Psychiatric Hospital is located in Black Rock, Bridgetown.
The Ministry of Health & Wellness also operates the Barbados Drug Service which provides a pharmacy service for the island.[5]
In 2011, the Government of Barbados signed a memorandum of understanding to lease its 22 acres (8.9 ha) Saint Joseph Hospital site to the Denver, Colorado-based America World Clinics (now Traverse Global Healthcare). Under the deal, the group will use Barbados as one of its main destinations for medical tourism at that facility.[citation needed] The government also announced it would begin constructing a new $900 million state-of-the-art hospital to replace the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.[citation needed]