In 2025, Cayman’s health system turned toward structural reform, prevention and access, as chronic disease, rising mental health demand and global health risks – from measles to COVID-19 and avian flu – dominated the headlines.
Strategy and governance
The October release of the 2026–2028 Strategic Policy Statement positioned healthcare not as a standalone public service but as a pillar of economic resilience and social stability. Anchored by a long-delayed National Health Strategy, the document prioritised affordability, prevention, measurable quality standards and integrated care for vulnerable populations.
Strategic change coincided with renewed governance. In January, Yvette Dilbert was appointed chair of the Health Services Authority board. Dr. Hilary Wolf, a global health specialist with extensive infectious-disease experience, took over as chief medical officer following the retirement of Dr. Nick Gent in September.
In October, the Department of Health Regulatory Services launched a fully digital practitioner renewal portal, replacing paper-based processes with online renewals and payments.
The private sector continued to expand its role alongside public reform. Health City launched maternity services at its Camana Bay hospital and delivered its first baby in March. In November, Doctors Hospital Cayman achieved Joint Commission International accreditation, aligning its operations with global quality benchmarks.
In September and October, hundreds of clinicians, policymakers and advocates also gathered for the Frontiers of Healthcare 2025 and Cayman Healthcare Conference, where prevention, sustainability and system resilience dominated discussions.
Mental health
Mental health remained one of the system’s most visible pressure points in 2025. In July, the Health Services Authority opened a dedicated adolescent behavioural health inpatient wing to address long-standing safety and care gaps.
Government also approved the Poinciana Mental Health Advisory Council to strengthen oversight at the East End residential rehabilitation facility that opened late last year. The public was invited to tour the new facility in October.
While these steps improved governance and transparency, they did little to obscure the persistent reality that demand for psychiatric services in Cayman continues to outpace service supply.
Tackling outbreaks and diseases
The year also underscored how exposed Cayman remains to global public health currents.
From March through September, surging measles cases in the United States pushed vaccinations to the forefront of the local agenda. By mid-year, the Ministry of Health was tracking the spread of the NB.1.8.1 COVID-19 variant, though officials stressed the threat remained low. In August, the chief medical officer announced that COVID-19 had slipped behind influenza and common cold viruses as a primary driver of respiratory illness in Cayman.
Chronic disease continued to be a major issue underlying policy response. The Health Services Authority expanded district-level diabetes education, while government committed to implementing the Pan American Health Organization’s HEARTS initiative, a region-wide programme designed to standardise and strengthen hypertension care.
Policy moves signalled a gradual shift away from episodic treatment toward prevention and long-term cost containment in a system under strain from non-communicable disease.
Outside of Grand Cayman, progress continued on the planned HOPE Oncology and Dialysis Centre on Cayman Brac, a public-private partnership intended to bring chemotherapy, dialysis, diagnostics and specialist consultations closer to home for Sister Islands residents.
The year closed with a reminder that infectious threats have not disappeared. In late November, H5N1 avian influenza was detected in eight birds at a farm in West Bay, triggering a rapid, multi-agency response. By December, authorities had linked the outbreak to migratory birds.
No humans or animals outside of birds have contracted the virus to-date.
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