This was warned yesterday by epidemiologist-health worker Carlos Féliz Cuello, who advised the public not to stay at home if they experience the first symptoms of profuse diarrhea that causes cholera because the patient requires special hydration, which cannot be obtained simply by drinking water or other energy drinks that people are accustomed to consuming in case of diarrhea. He claims that cholera causes rapid electrolyte loss and dehydration, which can lead to death in less than three days if not treated properly.

The specialist recalled that cholera is a poverty-related disease that manifests itself in areas where there is no drinking water, they do not receive it through pipes, they consume water sold in bulk, they live in overcrowded conditions, and they lack adequate education on food handling and cooking. “All of these are social, economic, and environmental factors that facilitate the development of this bacterium that is acquired through food and water contamination,” he explained. He stated that to avoid the presence of outbreaks of this disease from time to time, countries must be concerned about changing the living conditions of the people who live in these vulnerable areas because otherwise, all they are doing is applying temporary palliative measures, as is currently happening in the country in sectors such as La Zurza, where an outbreak has been registered.

He stated that the cases that are reported are those in which people notify when their care mechanisms, such as drinking a lot of water, teas, and hydrating drinks, have already failed and they arrive at health centers in complicated conditions. He explained that the cholera disease’s profuse diarrhea quickly dehydrates, causing the kidneys to stop working and the circulatory, cardiac, and respiratory systems to shut down.

Government has promised a set of policies to ensure the removal of trans fatty acids from food over the next two years.

Minister of Health Senator Dr The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott said this necessary Government intervention is part of the administration’s attack on incidences of non-communicable diseases.

“Barbados has identified this challenge and is looking to ensure that policies to remove industrially-produced trans fatty acids from the food system are in place by December 2024,” he told the opening day of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) high-level technical meeting on Non- Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and mental health, organised by the Pan American Health Organisation and the World Health Organisation. 

Walcott, the keynote speaker at the event which was held on the premises of the Hilton Barbados Resort, said it was important to adjust the local food system as NCDs and mental health challenges undermined and eroded the development gains of developing states since ill health and disease were high economic burdens.

The minister told the session that the private sector had a major role to play in incidences of NCDs in small islands such as Barbados and it is important that Governments intervened where possible.

“Commercial determinants of health and trade are also important drivers of NCDs in SIDS. Commercial determinants of health [can be] defined as the private sector activities that affect people’s health positively or negatively,” Walcott said.

“Commercial determinants of health . . . can exercise broad influence on the economic, physical, social and cultural environments in which people live. In fact, through their influence on food prices, availability and advertising, trade agreements and policies, they have accelerated the nutritional shift away from traditional diets resulting in increased levels of obesity, food insecurity and NCDs,” Walcott said.

“Sometimes, due to the size and nature of the commercial actors involved, governments in SIDS face impossible odds in securing regulatory protection to improve health. This is particularly true where government resources and budgets may be dwarfed by the size and scale of multinational companies, state-owned enterprises and foreign commercial actors . . . With health, it is imperative to examine the role of commercial actors.

“Understanding these commercial determinants of health, the power balances inherent within them, and the critical role of global governance is an important step in supporting SIDS to improve health outcomes. Food labelling, taxes on unhealthy foods, campaigns to limit the amount of sugar in drinks, and food chain incentives are just some of the regional initiatives that Caribbean SIDS have launched to combat NCDs.”

The health minister said the disruptions in the health system during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the impact of these issues and underscored the importance of having multisectoral approaches to address such matters.

During the event, Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness with Responsibility for the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) Dr Sonia Browne said NCDs had a significant impact on the mortality rate of small states such as Barbados. She suggested that the conference would help build political momentum and influence domestic action on NCDs and mental health among SIDs.

She explained that the robust discussions and ideas during the event will help to create a document of key recommendations which would be used during a SIDS ministerial conference on the prevention and control of NCDs and mental health in June. (SZB)

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“The treatments ranged from filling cavities, restorations, extractions and cleaning to root canals and dentures”

View the full post How Canadian dentists, hygienists are helping locals in the Caribbean on NOW Grenada.

on Monday due to shock, severe dengue fever with warning signs, leptospirosis, and a urinary tract infection, according to the death certificate issued by the health center.

The young pregnant woman underwent a Kerr-type cesarean section with the consent of her relatives to save the child she carried in her womb. Unfortunately, the baby died as well. The remains of the young woman and her daughter are buried in her home, which is almost directly in front of Padre Granero’s Catholic Church. People come to the site to express their condolences to their relatives and to express their sorrow over this tragic event.

While the Ministry of Health investigates an alleged dengue outbreak in the Padre Granero, Bello Costero, and La Laguna sectors. Several residents of that region have been hospitalized after exhibiting symptoms of these health conditions.

Because the mode of transmission is fecal-oral, that is, associated with water and food contaminated with fecal matter, greater care should be directed to food handling, cleanliness and hygiene at home, and constant hand washing.

As the Dominican Society of Intectology has pointed out, state and local governments must also ensure access to safe water and tools to maintain hygiene measures.

Watery and whitish diarrhea, like rice water, vomiting, dry mouth, weakness, and drowsiness are all symptoms of cholera, which can lead to death if not treated quickly.

The Good Hope Medical Station will be closed effective Tuesday, 17 January 2023, until further notice

View the full post Temporary closure of Good Hope Medical Station on NOW Grenada.

According to the UK Health Safety Agency, which designed an outbreak categorization system to describe potential monkeypox transmission scenarios, the second level of outbreak means that a local transmission scenario already exists within a defined subpopulation.

Given this, the DS classified Puerto Rico as being in the second level of the outbreak, because 83.1% of confirmed cases had no travel history, and the most commonly reported transmission route is prolonged and direct close contact, of the type skin to skin.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

Dr. Basil Springer

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” – 3 John 2

When one conjures up a visit to Barbados, thoughts of an idyllic paradise spring to mind. Barbados, at Christmas or other times of the year, certainly delivers on that promise time and time again, visit after visit.

During my current visit “back home”, it hasn’t been all relaxation, since a visit from Trinidad to Barbados for me means lots of business activities, errands as well as doctors’ appointments, along with family and friends’ get-togethers and the various parties and social activities associated with the yuletide season.

As I prepare for my return to Trinidad and Tobago to settle into my weekly activities, which include Rotary service activities, shepherding businesses as well as continuing work on writing projects, I reflect on the rich experience of my visit to Bim.

The highlight for me was, of course, Judy’s Christmas/birthday celebrations, reconnecting with my children, grandchildren, and extended members of the Springer, Cozier and Barrow clans. However, an extra delight was spending time with three generations of long-time friends from Canada, with whom I was blessed to work during my consulting days as the founder and managing director of System Caribbean Limited.

From childhood, I have spent much time walking on the beaches of Barbados, and it was marvellous to continue the tradition, this time while communing with nature as well as with friends strolling through the Rockley golf course community.

As I have written in the past, the benefits of walking have been abundant in boosting my holistic health. There is much to gain business-wise, mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually while engaging in this activity, whether solo or with company.

Whatever the setting — along the beach, across the golf course, within botanical gardens, around a park, through the neighbourhood, in hilly terrain — it is often on these journeys that ideas are fertilised and solutions materialise for challenges and opportunities alike.

As we welcome a new year, let’s not only cherish the memories of time spent with family and friends over the holiday season, but let’s also commit to embarking on, and sustaining, a healthy lifestyle.

A good start for 2023 would be to embrace good nutrition, sleep, hugs, prayer and meditation, and exercise (including walking), as we continue to serve our Creator and fellow human beings on this wonderful journey called life.

Now let’s embrace the blessing of a new year in a sound mind and healthy bodies! 

Dr. Basil Springer GCM is a Change-Engine Consultant. His email address is basilgf@marketplaceexcellence.com. His columns may be found at www.nothingbeatsbusiness.com.

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Wait times at the Accident and Emergency Department (A&E) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) are still too long, the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) has complained.

The party’s spokesperson on health Paul Gibson lamented that people were waiting in excess of two days to be seen by a doctor, even though millions of dollars had been spent on refurbishing the A&E Department.

“We have a situation in Barbados where it is now taking between 48 and 49 hours in our A&E to be seen. Now, there is something called an accident and there is something called an emergency and it is no longer an accident or an emergency when 24 hours have passed, and this is something that we have to be very mindful of,” he said during a press conference at the DLP George Street headquarters on Friday.

“You have a lot of 85-year-olds and 75-year-olds sitting in a waiting room, sometimes falling and collapsing on the ground in the A&E Department waiting to be seen by a doctor, and there is a reason why it is happening.”

Gibson said the Government had not delivered on its promise to fully renovate the department, as the old A&E section remained incomplete.

He said the Government needed to prioritise finishing the project.

“The Government is finding money to build a Golden Square, they are finding money to build a Heroes’ Park, but you mean they can’t find money to build or repair the second part of the A&E Department? It is heartbreaking that Government can find money to fly and stay in luxurious hotels in Egypt, in South Africa and carry a large 24-person contingent to these functions and spend large sums of money and can’t find enough money to fix something as fundamental as a hospital,” Gibson contended.

Also speaking at the press conference was the DLP’s spokesperson on education, Melissa Savoury who described the performance of Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, Kay McConney as lacklustre.

She questioned why the 2023 National Grooming Policy was released the day before the start of the new school term, and without alerting teachers.

“Why did we wait until the night before school starts to send off something like that when parents would have already prepped their children, parents would have already taken their sons to the barber to get their hair cut?

“I agree that a new policy is needed and necessary given the diversity of our society … but it is understood that, as usual, our teachers were left in the dark to only find out like everybody else about these new grooming policies. Once again, the ministry continues to show a lack of respect to our teachers, a lack of respect to our parents and a lack of respect in general,” Savoury said.

She said another area of concern is teachers and principals acting in posts, noting that 10 principals and 18 acting deputy principals are currently acting in their positions. (RB)

The post DLP complains about wait times, incomplete renovations in QEH A&E appeared first on Barbados Today.

The Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority (BMCLA) will be celebrating its second anniversary on January 18, 2023, with activities that include education and engagement with the public, the health sector and investors. 

The week of events are:

Jan 16, 2023: Launch of BMCLA Cannabis Crash Course Term 2  – partnered with the University of the West Indies (UWI) – Future Learn Courses – Open to the public via registration on https://www.bmcla.bb/blog.

Jan 17, 2023: BMCLA Health Forum, Island Inn, Aquatic Gap, Bay Street, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. For the health sector only via registration.

Jan 18, 2023: BMCLA Open House, Hero’s Square, Bridgetown, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Open to the public – walk-in or appointment via https://www.bmcla.bb/blog. 

Jan 19, 2023: BMCLA Mix & Mingle, Island Inn, Aquatic Gap, Bay Street, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Invitation only via registration.

Communications and Public Education Specialist with the BMCLA, Tracy Moore, said, “These forums are the BMCLA’s continued initiatives to educate and engage stakeholders while ensuring transparency and equity within this developing local industry. We hope that persons come out and be informed and involved in the medicinal cannabis industry.” 

“The BMCLA Health Forum on Jan 17, 2023 will engage the health sector to provide real scope about the medicinal cannabis industry while looking at the important role the sector plays in the industry. It will also be an opportunity to hear feedback and address any lingering concerns. The BMCLA Mix and Mingle on January 19, 2023 will allow for licensees and potential licensees (applicants in the last steps of the application process) to be in a room with potential investors, industry partners and select members of the industry support sector to meet and discuss industry opportunities,” she explained.

Moore noted that two of the four events are for specific audiences. The Health Forum is specifically for doctors, nurses, and pharmacists and the Mix & Mingle is specifically for industry participants. The educational campaign and the Open House are open to the public. 

The BMCLA Cannabis Crash Course Term 2 will have online classes available free to all, while the BMCLA Open House on January 18, 2023 will see the officers of the BMCLA go into the public space to provide important industry information.

“We did the Open House last year, and we had an overwhelming response, so we decided to make it bigger this year by engaging the public in Bridgetown. We can assist anyone who wants to know more about the medicinal cannabis industry or needs help to get into the industry, on a one-on-one basis,” she said.

Moore explained that these forums were very important because the industry grew steadily from last year to this year.

“Last year, we announced that two licensees with a combined nine licences had been approved. This year, we have an additional three licensees with a combined six licences approved by the Board. We also have two applicants at the pre-approval stage with one licence each, and there are currently a few more before the Board for review. So, as the industry grows we need to ensure that the persons who are applying and receiving their licences, those who are our valued partners and stakeholders as well as industry investors, are all growing together under the regulatory framework,” she added.

Moore urged all service providers to get in touch with the BMCLA during this week of activities via socialmedia@bmcla.bb so that they can grow within the medicinal cannabis industry through the BMCLA Classifieds. 

The BMCLA Classifieds allow applicants and licensees to contact service providers like security firms, fencing and lighting companies, accountants, lawyers, administrative workers, real estate agents and anyone else who can benefit from the industry with their products and services via all BMCLA public platforms. (PR)

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