Trinidad and Tobago’s public spending on health was three per cent of GDP in 2011, equivalent to US$956 per capita. In the most recent survey, conducted between 1997 and 2010, there were 118 doctors, and 356 nurses and midwives per 100,000 people.
Additionally, in the period 2007-12, 98 per cent of births were attended by qualified health staff and in 2012, 85 per cent of one-year-olds were immunised with one dose of measles. In 2010, 94 per cent of people were using an improved drinking water source and 92 per cent had access to adequate sanitation facilities. The most recent survey, conducted in the period 2000-11, reports that Trinidad and Tobago has 49 pharmaceutical personnel per 100,000 people.
Trinidad and Tobago has three general hospitals, two district hospitals, four specialist hospitals and more than 100 health centres. The private health sector is smaller and includes a variety of private health care providers, including physicians, dentists, pharmacists and opticians. All private hospitals are required to apply for a licence to operate. There are various distribution and retail pharmaceutical operations in the country.
The most recent legislative action relating to mental health in Trinidad and Tobago is the Mental Health Act Amendment of 1999. There are 0.1 psychiatric hospitals and 74.4 beds in psychiatric hospitals per 100,000 people.
