Overview

TT does not manufacture any type of medical equipment.  The principal purchaser of medical equipment is the public sector health care system through the Ministry of Health.  The Ministry receives funding from the central government but is managed as five separate regional health authorities (RHAs): North West RHA, North Central RHA; South West RHA, Eastern RHA, and Tobago RHA.

The private health sector is funded through health insurance and, increasingly, self-paying patients.  Domestic private health expenditure per capita is almost 50 percent higher than the regional average.  The strengths of the private health care sector lie in the provision of secondary and tertiary care in fields not traditionally offered by the public hospitals (e.g. cosmetic surgery and care homes) or where public sector service is limited (dental care).  The nature of the TT health care market means that private growth is closely linked to public sector performance.

As is common throughout the Caribbean, TT has an aging population with high levels of non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.  The GoTT aspires for the country to become a regional medical tourism hub.  The GoTT constructed five new hospitals and clinics in as many years and has more hospital construction projects planned.  At approximately $1 billion, health expenditure accounted for the 2022 fiscal year’s second largest budget allocation, an increase of five percent compared to 2021.

Leading Sub-Sectors

• Assistive technologies
• Electronic monitoring equipment
• Home care technology
• Rehabilitation equipment
• Diagnostics
• Lab services
• Dental
• Laser eye surgery

Opportunities

Opportunities exist for companies to supply private hospital, residential, and nursing facilities and home care service providers with equipment, new and used.

Resources

Ministry of Health https://health.gov.tt/