Connect with us

Caribbean News

JAMAICA: Get Back to The Basics of Health – Dr. Tufton

Published

on

#Jamaica, May 09, 2018 – Mandeville – Health Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, is calling on Jamaicans to “get back to the basics of health” by practising a healthy lifestyle and reducing risks of accidents and injuries.  He argued that “as a consequence of our own actions, we have impacted our state of public health and the demand on the system”.

He said that the responsibility for health and wellness begins with each individual, and with “how we live in the environment, interact with each other, how we treat ourselves and a recognition that health and wellness starts at the community level”.

“Many of the demands for more and better healthcare would not have been there if, at the community level, people were practicing some very basic healthy behaviour,” he stressed.

The country, he said, has lost its way in that regard and needs to “get back to basics”.

“Public health is not just about the number of hospitals we have or surgeries we can perform.  Those represent the manifestation of a society that has missed the core fundamentals and principles of sustainable health and wellness,” Dr. Tufton said.  “Jamaicans must get back to the basics of promoting and living a life in the interest of our community – that is, the practice of preventative healthcare.   These habits would lead to less pressure on the system,” the Minister contended.

He was speaking at a ceremony last Thursday (May 3) to officially open the newly expanded Portsea Health Centre in St. Elizabeth.  Dr. Tufton said that there is significant demand on the public health system, with hospital and health centre visits reaching 1.2 million and 1.9 million, respectively, in 2017.  There were 187,000 hospital admissions last year.

The Minister estimates that 70 per cent of visits to accident and emergency departments were for injuries related to traffic accidents and crime and violence.

“Statistics of road accidents in Jamaica show that human error, breaches of the road code, drinking and driving, faulty tyres, improper overtaking all combine to create a demand on the accident and emergency ward.  Trauma cases related to domestic violence also fill the accident and emergency wards daily,” he said.

Dr. Tufton noted that lifestyle conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease were also putting a strain on the health system.  He said that seven out of every 10 deaths in Jamaica were linked to preventable lifestyle illnesses.

“Could these have been prevented given our consumption of salt, sugar, fat, alcohol and smoking?” Dr. Tufton asked, highlighting the need for moderation in consumption habits.

Three treatment rooms were added to the Portsea Health Centre at a cost of $5 million.  The facility, which was built in the 1950s, provides child/maternal care, antenatal/postnatal care, nutrition advice, curative services, disease control and much more, five days per week. It serves 4,000 residents with about 300 visits monthly.
Release: JIS

 

Continue Reading

Caribbean News

CARPHA Progresses to Eligibility for the First Disbursement of Pandemic Funding

Published

on

Following a landmark Public Signing Ceremony for the Pandemic Fund (PF) Technical Cooperation Agreement (“Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Prevention, Preparedness, and Response” [RG-T4387] Project) on December 14, 2023, in Trinidad, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) continues to progress towards the start of implementation.

 CARPHA fulfilled the IDB’s nine conditions prior to first disbursement, achieving full eligibility on March 15, 2024, and is now eligible for the first disbursement. This milestone achievement in just 3 months after the signing speaks to the commitment of both CARPHA, the Executing Agency, and IDB, the Implementing Entity, toward the regional PF project with the objective of supporting the reduction of the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean by building pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) surveillance & early-warning systems (EWS), laboratory systems and workforce capacity, regionally at CARPHA and in countries.

Since the signing of the Technical Cooperation Agreement and as part of the conditions prior to first disbursement, CARPHA has achieved the following key outputs (i) the development of the PF Project Operations Manual, Multi-annual Execution Plan, Procurement Plan, Financial Plan, Procedure for CARPHA’s Financial Reporting System; (ii) vacancy announcements for two tranches of consultants with the subsequent hiring of five (Technical Coordinator, Financial Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Operations Officer and Project Operations Coordinator) and (iii) the establishment of the Project Execution Unit (PEU) and Project Execution Steering Committee (PESC). The dedicated PEU will be responsible for execution according to its planned timelines, which will be led by the Dr. Lisa Indar, the Project Director (CARPHA’s Director of Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control Division).

 CARPHA, as the lead regional public health agency and an expression of Caribbean Cooperation in Health is mandated by its Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to support its 26 CARPHA Member States (CMS) in bolstering national systems and coordinating regional response to public health threats. The Agency works closely with regional and international agencies and uses regional mechanisms, surveillance systems, and networks for coordinating its public health response work.

In July 2023, the PF Governing Board announced that CARPHA’s regional entity proposal, entitled ‘Reducing the Public Health Impact of Pandemics in the Caribbean through Strengthened Integrated Early Warning Surveillance, Laboratory Systems and Workforce Development’ was successfully selected for the first round of financing. It was one of only 19 proposals selected from over 300 submissions and the only regional project. The three priority areas in the proposal are: (i) Comprehensive disease surveillance and EWS, (ii) Laboratory systems and (iii) Human resources and public health and community workforce capacity.

This project is expected to begin implementation in March 2024, starting off with a blended onboarding session. A Stakeholder Meeting with countries is tentatively planned for July 2024.

CARPHA remains dedicated to working together with the IDB, CARPHA Member States and the Pandemic Fund to successfully implement the regional proposal geared toward reducing the public health impact of pandemics in the Caribbean.

Continue Reading

Caribbean News

Men who had Murdered Man, Marley Higgs’ cell phone face Court

Published

on

Wilkie Arthur

Freelance Court Correspondent

The prosecution intends to try two young North Caicos men, both age 21 for the offense of possession of property of a murdered man, property that was stolen and landed in their possession.

The phone belonged to Peureton ‘Marley’ Higgs, who is believed to have been an innocent gunned down at his apartment complex in the Glass Shack area in a spray of bullets on February 2 that killed another man and wounded two others, including a ten-year-old little girl.

The cell phone was described as white in colour, an iPhone, in a hard black case. 

On Monday, March 18th, JEFFVANO HANDFIELD of North Caicos pleaded not guilty to the offense, and the matter was adjourned to April 2024. He was granted bail in the matter.

A second North Caicos man was charged similarly.  

SARENO CAPELLAN aka, Kino Williams is the second individual brought before the court pertaining to the said cellphone. He appeared in court a week after JEFFVANO HANDFIELD, the date being Monday March 25th 2024.

The case for the Crown is that both men sometime in February of this year possessed the cellphone knowing or suspecting it to be stolen property.

Continue Reading

Caribbean News

Supreme Court Closed for Easter

Published

on

NOTICE is hereby given that the Easter Recess shall commence on Friday 29th April, 2024 and end on Friday 5th April, 2024. During the Easter Recess Judge Selochan will be available to deal only with matters that are urgent or require prompt attention.

Court Business During the Easter Recess

A person who wishes to have a matter heard during the recess must file a certificate of urgency along with an affidavit, which must set out the reasons why the matter is urgent or requires prompt attention. The matter will not be listed during the recess unless the Judge deems it fit for urgent hearing.

Opening Hours During the Easter Holiday

The Supreme Court’s last sitting day for the first term is Thursday 28th March, 2024. The Court will officially resume sittings on Monday 8th April, 2024. The Supreme Court Offices in both Grand Turk and Providenciales will continue to operate while the Court is not sitting during the recess.

The Court Office will be closed on the following public holidays:

  • Friday 29th March, 2024 (Good Friday) CLOSED
  • Monday 1st April, 2024 (Easter Monday) CLOSED

Continue Reading

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

TRENDING