Dr. Angela Brathwaite

Dr. Angela Brathwaite is a general physician and rheumatology specialist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown — Barbados's sole public hospital and the island's primary centre for specialist medical care. With 10 years of clinical experience, she provides specialist rheumatological care to the Barbadian population in a context where subspecialty medical services are limited.

Barbados is a small island state of approximately 287,000 people, and specialist rheumatological services are scarce in the Eastern Caribbean. Dr. Brathwaite plays a crucial role in providing accessible expert care for Barbadians with autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, reducing the need for costly overseas medical referrals.

Trained at the University of the West Indies (UWI) — the leading medical training institution for the English-speaking Caribbean — Dr. Brathwaite combines her general medicine training with subspecialty expertise in rheumatology acquired through DM training and continuing medical education through Caribbean and international rheumatology programmes.

She manages rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), gout, spondyloarthropathies, and musculoskeletal pain syndromes, providing biologic therapy to eligible patients through the hospital's specialist pharmacy programme.

Dr. Brathwaite completed her MBBS at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Cave Hill Campus — the leading medical school for the English-speaking Caribbean. She undertook her internal medicine specialty training and obtained the DM (Doctor of Medicine) in Internal Medicine at UWI, with a rotation focus on rheumatology. She completed a Rheumatology Certificate Programme through UWI and the Caribbean College of Physicians, gaining formal subspecialty training in inflammatory arthritis, autoimmune diseases, and musculoskeletal medicine. She participates in continuing medical education through the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) online educational programmes.

Dr. Brathwaite's rheumatology practice covers the diagnosis and management of inflammatory and autoimmune musculoskeletal diseases. For rheumatoid arthritis, she provides disease activity assessment using DAS28 scoring, DMARDs prescribing (methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine, leflunomide, sulfasalazine), and biologic therapy (anti-TNF agents, abatacept, rituximab) for refractory cases.

For SLE, she manages all aspects of systemic disease including renal, cutaneous, haematological, and neuropsychiatric manifestations, coordinating with nephrology for lupus nephritis and with dermatology for cutaneous lupus. She performs joint aspiration for diagnostic fluid analysis and therapeutic steroid injection.

For crystal arthropathies, she manages acute gout and chronic tophaceous gout with urate-lowering therapy. She provides musculoskeletal assessment for fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, and spondyloarthropathies including ankylosing spondylitis.

Barbados is accessible by direct flights from North America, the UK, and Europe, and attracts Caribbean residents and diaspora Barbadians seeking specialist medical care. Dr. Brathwaite provides consultations in English at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bridgetown. International patients requiring specialist rheumatology consultations can access services through the hospital's outpatient clinics. Video consultations are available for pre-visit specialist reviews and follow-up care after returning home.

Dr. Brathwaite has been recognised by the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) for her important contribution to specialist rheumatology care in Barbados — a service that is exceedingly rare in the Eastern Caribbean. She has been acknowledged within the Queen Elizabeth Hospital clinical community for her leadership role in establishing and sustaining rheumatological services, reducing the need for costly overseas referrals (typically to the United Kingdom or United States) for Barbadian patients with complex autoimmune diseases.

She participates in Caribbean College of Physicians educational activities and continues to expand her rheumatology knowledge through the American College of Rheumatology's online continuing education programme. She contributes to postgraduate internal medicine teaching at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.