#Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos – October 18, 2020 — Individuals
who struggle with being overweight in the Turks and Caicos got the kind of
vocal support in the House of Assembly, which makes those in our bariatric
community feel a lot lighter.
It is reported that there have to be policy changes in order
for bariatric patients to have their severe obesity re-considered.
It is not cosmetic.
It is a serious medical condition which could be the difference between
life and death.
“It is nothing that is cosmetic. It is something that is life threatening and
it is would appear as if their voices are not being heard loud enough. Those persons live lives in a way that they
don’t know if they are going to go to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow, that’s
how bad it is,” said Hon Dwayne Taylor, Speaker of the TCI House of Assembly.
It was agreement with a presentation by the member for Grand
Turk North, Hon George Lightbourne who is calling for efforts to amend the laws
to be accelerated.
“I’ve gotten reports from persons who are concerned. Persons who find themselves in need of – I believe
the correct term would be: bariatric surgery – life threatening surgery and I’ve
been asked to address it. The relevant minister,
I’m not sure how far you’ve gotten in terms of amending policies and doing
whatever you have to do but it’s a real issue,” said Lightbourne during House
of Assembly on October 13.
In a Letter to the Editor in June 2020, it was said: “Some of us have been told over two years ago
that they are amending the policy to include this procedure under the NHIP
Scheme, and to date, nothing yet. Some of us have been given month to month
promises for the last three years that hopefully we would be out of here in a
few weeks’ time to a month to undergo surgery, and to date, nothing yet.”
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The TCI Bariatric Group is a community now; in
solidarity as they advocate to be acknowledged and approved for the life-saving
procedure. In the June letter to
Magnetic Media, the Group talked about steps taken and disappointments
experienced.
“For those of you who do not understand the term Bariatric,
it is simply means the medical treatment of obesity which is being seriously
overweight and a number of us have been deemed medically morbidly obese,” it
was added, “We were told that if we got referrals from the doctors, that our
issues would be place before the cabinet and that it should not be a problem
for us to be given the bariatric procedure which is so badly needed to save all
of our lives, so we all went and got numerous of referrals, some exceeding as much
as five. We followed the necessary procedures, only to be told that are
referrals were refused because the NHIP Policy does not cover this procedure
and that it is deemed a cosmetic procedure.”
The Governor, the Premier and the Minister of Health are reportedly aware of the vexing battle of the Bariatric Group.
Lightbourne expressed, it is time for the mischaracterization
of the condition to cease.
“Cosmetic, Mr. Speaker is something that you do for fashion
and you do because you want to look better.
When the issue is pertaining to something that is life threatening, we ought
to take it serious and we ought to act with haste.”
The surgery, according to the Bariatric Group costs around
$10,500. The members are all National
Health Insurance Plan (NHIP) contributors and question the lackluster pace to
make the adaptations which would all the NHIP to cover the costs of the
surgery.
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“We need help, we need this government to live up to the promise
made to us. We were told that monies have already been budgeted for these
procedures from last year budget and as of today nothing.
Persons on the outside would look and say, oh go and exercise
you all too lazy, or stop eating, you all too greedy and frankly that is not
the case. Many of us cannot exercise because of our knees, our backs or
something else, and really food is not an issue. It is simply a metabolism
issue, a genetic issue or some other kind of medical issue.
Every country we have contacted is offering this surgery free
of cost to locals once persons meet the medical requirements, what is wrong
with our Country?”
Hon Lightbourne offered this in conclusion: “I think that our number one interest should
be to do whatever it takes to make life better, Mr. Speaker.
Magnetic Media is a Telly Award winning multi-media company specializing in creating compelling and socially uplifting TV and Radio broadcast programming as a means for advertising and public relations exposure for its clients.
Turks and Caicos, February 5, 2025 – The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force is investigating the discovery of a decomposing body found in the vicinity of Delco Yard, Snake Hill, Blue Hills.
At approximately 7:45 pm on Tuesday, January 15, 2025, officers received information regarding the presence of a body in a ditch near Delco Yard. A team of officers and the TCI Regiment were deployed to the scene.
Upon arrival, officers confirmed the presence of a deceased male wearing black jeans and blue Jordan sneakers. The deceased had a black locks hairstyle. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition.
If you have any information that could assist in identifying the deceased or in the ongoing investigation, please call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 (TIPS).
Information can also be shared via the Crime Stoppers P3 app.
Further updates will be provided as the investigation progresses.
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands — Visit Turks and Caicos Islands secured a coveted live television feature for the country Tuesday morning on Live with Kelly and Mark, the American morning show watched by millions and hosted by actors Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos.
Content provided exclusively by VisitTCI.com helped promote Turks and Caicos as one of only six destinations the segment highlighted as the best spots for a romantic getaway.
“That’s what it actually looks like,” said Ripa, pointing to the titular VisitTCI.com image of Middle Caicos, while Consuelos mused about the country’s trademark white sand and turquoise water.
The feature comes less than a month after Visit Turks and Caicos Islands collaborated with NBC’s TODAY and Travel + Leisure on a segment that featured the archipelago as one of the 50 best places to travel in 2025.
The Turks and Caicos Islands is a popular destination for weddings, honeymoons, and proposals. Several celebrities have chosen to marry in Turks and Caicos, from model Emma Heming and actor Bruce Willis—a former long-time owner of property on Parrot Cay—to Roxy Music frontman Bryan Ferry and Amanda Sheppard.
Ripa and Consuelos, who are married, visited the Turks and Caicos for a kid-free getaway themselves in 2009.
Live with Kelly and Mark is one of the most-viewed entertainment talk shows on American television, with an audience of more than 2.5 million total viewers.
The show joins a collection of dozens of media companies and publications that Visit Turks and Caicos Islands has partnered with to promote Turks and Caicos as a leading tourism destination. VisitTCI.com has collaborated with powerhouse publications such as National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, AFAR, and Condé Nast Traveler.
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, 6th February 2025– Political campaigning is well on the way for Turks and Caicos Islands General Elections that is scheduled to be held February 7th 2025 and the Supervisor of Elections take the opportunity of reminding Candidates, Political Parties and Independent Candidates or anyone associated with them of the need to comply with the provisions of the Election Ordinance, and in particular he reminds what is expected by virtue of Section 81 of the said Ordinance which reads:
Every person who corruptly, by himself or by any other person, either before, during or after an election, directly or indirectly, give or provides or pays, wholly or in part, the expenses of giving or providing any food, drink, entertainment, or provision to or for any person for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person or any other person, to vote or to refrain from voting at such election, or on account of such person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting at such election;
Every voter who corruptly accepts or takes any such food, drink, entertainment, or provision.
The Supervisor also explained that “Treating” has been illegal for many years and in the past, leading up to the General Election some people choose to ignore the offence of Treating and such behavior he said will not be ignored.
The person offering this kind of inducement is committing a serious criminal offence and so is any member of the public who accepts a gift or cash.
The Supervisor has also warned that he will follow up upon all reports received and will not hesitate to collaborate with the Police to initiate criminal investigation.
Political Party bodies and Candidates should make it known through their organization or campaign machinery of the need to comply with the law so as to uphold the law and ensure a level playing field between campaigns in the best interest of voters in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Anyone who is found guilty of Treating under the Election Ordinance shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine of $5,000 or to imprisonment for twelve months or both.
Please avoid any activity that attracts the attention of treating and any other provision of the Election Ordinance