Although some successes are obvious in our fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus seems to be always ahead of us. Mostly, we are reacting to the problem rather than having some proactive plans. The development of a method utilizing nanobeads to boost the amount of detectable viral RNA in a wastewater sample that successfully detected the Alpha, Delta and Omicron variants up to two weeks before the strains were detected in tests in clinics, could change the paradigm.

Although a huge possibility for early pandemic tracking using wastewater sequencing has long been discussed, two main factors - low-quality sequence data and the inability to estimate relative lineage abundance in mixed samples, were hindering the progress. In an eloquent study published in Nature a few weeks ago, scientists resolved these issues by using nanobeads to perform a high-resolution, 295-day wastewater and clinical sequencing effort, in the controlled environment of a large university campus. They successfully detected emerging variants of concern up to 14 days earlier in wastewater samples. They identified multiple instances of virus spread not captured by clinical genomic surveillance providing a scalable solution for wastewater genomic surveillance that allows early detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants and identification of cryptic transmission.

Read the full article here

YOUR HEART works every second of the day to keep you alive! Prevention and early detection of heart disease and the associated risk factors (like obesity, high cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes) are, therefore, essential to help keep your...

MSN News The Healthy by Denise Mann, MS – Sept 22, 2022 TMR Editor: We maintain with the sanction and advice of super medical authority that much of what follows here, if observed early (and even now) and managed accordingly, Montserrat could have been the model of least affected by the pandemic. See – the old saying […]

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The Daily Beast David Axe –  All over the world, the rates of death and hospitalization from COVID keep dropping. But our successful mitigation of the worst outcomes of the 33-month-old pandemic belie a growing crisis. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty© Provided by The Daily Beast More and more people are surviving COVID and staying out of […]

Speaking on Starcom’s Down To Brass Tacks call-in radio programme on Friday, Gooding-Edghill said he has met with the hospital’s senior leadership team along with the Minister of State responsible for QEH affairs Dr Sonia Browne, to review an Accident and Emergency Improvement Plan.

“What we will need though, is some additional resources and we are working on those resources. I have a follow-up meeting with the A&E leadership team and that will happen very shortly. But we have to remove some of the administrative functions and burdens from the doctors to allow the doctors in A&E to focus exclusively on [clinical duties],” he said.

“There are instances sometimes where a doctor may have to go and fetch information, a doctor may have to go and source some additional medical resources in order to execute and perform a task. That’s what I meant by some of the administrative stuff,” the Health Minister explained.

He told his radio audience that authorities are trying to work through that and are fine-tuning the improvement plan.

“Once we do that, we would also be in a better position … to give them some additional resources. For example, in terms of how you run and manage an ER. One of the things I think we will have to look at is the whole management of the ER itself and how that is administered. If you can take away some of those non-critical functions from doctors and have personnel focusing on those other areas, it would free up some of the time available for the doctors to do what they have to do,” Gooding-Edghill suggested.

He said when he reviewed the plan, it was exciting even as he engaged with the team.

“We have a plan to address minor cases that present to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I have indicated before that the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is a place for reassurance. In my experience there, when people are feeling unwell, they go to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for immediate treatment. They go to the A&E for example, as the first stop, because if they can’t afford to go to a private care facility, they would come to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and that is where they have the best treatment, and they know the best treatment would be given to them,” the Health Minister contended.

He noted that even though A&E is an emergency facility, a patient with pain in some part of their body is not concerned about whether it’s urgent, they just want care and therefore go to the QEH.

“So therefore what we have to do, is to implement within the Accident and Emergency Department, a Minor Cases Unit, which would allow for example, patients to be fast-tracked based on the urgency of the cases they present and also that they present to the A&E department,” he announced.

“The Minor Cases Unit will also be suitable for patients. For example, if there is an injury that may require some resources from the hospital, of course they would go to the hospital. If there are other injuries for example, that are non-life or limb-threatening injuries, then obviously, the Minor Cases Unit can deal with those,” the Minister said.

Gooding-Edghill provided data to show the level of traffic that continues to pass through the A&E.

“The Accident and Emergency Department in 2019 registered 37,660 patient visits, 46 per cent of those patients that visited in 2019, accounted for hospital admissions. The remainder obviously were dealt with and discharged. Now in 2020, interestingly enough and obviously because of COVID and so on, there was a reduction. 29,667 patients would have visited the Accident and Emergency, and 49 per cent of the total were admitted. So, those statistics alone tell me very clearly that not every visit to the A&E would require hospitalisation,” the Minister of Health said.

“The issue here for Barbadians is the time that they have to spend waiting in A&E. And if we continue to improve the processes, I think that we will definitely see some improvement,” he said.

He also said that a Patient Relations Service, which is at the pilot stage, is currently in operation at A&E and on some wards, but will be expanded across the hospital in due course.

Gooding-Edghill also announced that the hospital would soon be measuring patient satisfaction based on a structured feedback system. He said too that having completed phases one and two of the A&E expansion project, the third phase is currently in the works. (EJ)

The post Minor Cases Unit to be set up at QEH appeared first on Barbados Today.

The Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) is pleased to announce the launch of three (3) new publications focused on Regulating the Availability and Marketing of Unhealthy Beverages and Food Products in and around Schools in the Caribbean. The three documents are as follows:

Report – Regulating the Availability and Marketing of Unhealthy Beverages and Food Products in and around Schools in the Caribbean Read/download

Model Policy and Legislative Guidance for Regulating the Availability and Marketing of Unhealthy Beverages and Food Products in and around Schools in the Caribbean Read/download

Summary – Policy and Legislative Guidance for Regulating the Availability and Marketing of Unhealthy Beverages and Food Products in and around Schools in the Caribbean Read/download

Background

Childhood overweight and obesity are growing challenges in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) affecting 1 in 3 children. Obesogenic school environments, where children spend one-third (1/3) of their time, contribute to childhood overweight and obesity. The aim of this Report was to provide policy and legislative guidance for regulating the availability and marketing of unhealthy beverages and food products in and around schools in the Caribbean

Though primarily captured through a health lens, childhood obesity must also be framed from other perspectives, namely human rights, education and economic perspectives. All CARICOM Member States have ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as well as other relevant international treaties, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). They therefore have a tri-fold duty to respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights to health, adequate nutritious foods and to access information, among other rights.  Critically, these and other related rights must be centred on cross-cutting human rights principles, such as non-discrimination and the best interests of the child. The response of CARICOM Member States to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity within their borders, and also at the Regional level, is therefore urgent.

The post Regulating the Availability and Marketing of Unhealthy Beverages and Food Products in and around Schools in the Caribbean appeared first on Healthy Caribbean Coalition.

On September 10th, World Suicide Prevention Day, the Healthy Caribbean Youth (the youth arm of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition) and Let’s Unpack It hosted a virtual panel discussion titled Building Hope Through Action: A Discussion on Suicide Prevention.

The objectives of the discussion were to:

• To generate awareness about the warning signs and risk factors of suicide
• To establish the links between the increasing number of deaths by suicide and poor mental health amongst youth
• To recommend key strategies and steps the public and stakeholders can implement to prevent suicide

In her opening remarks, Danielle Walwyn, HCC Advocacy Officer and Coordinator of Healthy Caribbean Youth reiterated the importance of the discussion and highlighted HCCs ongoing efforts to explore and amplify the challenges and solutions associated with mental health especially among children and youth in the region. She noted:

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the HCC and HCY facilitated conversations (The Future Talks – Cultivating Healthy School Environments and Re-Opening Schools: Shared Perspectives on Navigating Mental Health During COVID-19) focused on the mental health of students and it was clear from these discussions that youth, especially youth who are already facing vulnerabilities such as – young persons living with obesity, NCDs (PLWNCDs), persons living with disabilities (PLWD), members of the LGBTQ+ communities , Indigenous communities and persons of low socioeconomic status – were struggling more than ever before with their mental health and they lacked safe and accessible spaces, especially within their school and community environment, to feel heard, understood and provided with guidance without judgement. This prompted HCY to consult with youth from across the region (including Let’s Unpack It) to develop a call to action – a document that outlines key asks from youth to transform mental health systems across the region and protect the mental health and wellbeing of children and youth. Some of these asks include WHO approaches for suicide prevention. We look forward to releasing this document on World Mental Health Day to continue this important dialogue on mental health. We hope that policymakers and other key stakeholders will realise that strategic investments can protect our mental health and ultimately prevent the tragedy of suicide.

She welcomed the five panelists who she noted would help to unpack the complex roots of mental health and death by suicide, and better understand the role that each of us, not just policymakers, have in creating environments that support optimum mental health.

The five panelists were:

• Mr. Johnash Tocel is the Youth Representative Board Member of the Barbados Family Planning Association, a member of the UREPORT Barbados Steering Committee, and an Executive Team Member of the Youth Advocacy Movement (YAM) Barbados
• Dr. Chenelle Joseph, Consultant Doctor in Psychiatry and Internal Medicine, currently practicing in Antigua
• Ms. Sarah Stennett, Registered Nurse, and the Manager of Centre for Counselling Addiction Support Alternatives Mental Health Crisis Hotline.
• Mr. Christopher Laurie, Independent Health Researcher, Health and Wellness Advocate, and member of the Healthy Caribbean Youth
• Mrs. Brenda Roach is a Registered Counselling Psychologist @rebalancechat, currently practicing in Barbados
• David Johnson, the founder of Let’s Unpack It, was the moderator of the session. He was accompanied by Stephanie Whiteman, Healthy Caribbean Youth member who moderated the Q&A segment of the discussion.

If you want to learn more about the panelists’ thoughts on the link between deaths by suicide and mental health challenges, challenges in creating environments that support mental health and how we as a community-at-large can build hope – watch the thought-provoking discussion here:



The post Let’s Unpack It: A Discussion on Suicide Prevention appeared first on Healthy Caribbean Coalition.

The NCD Alliance led Global Week for Action on NCDs took place during the week 5-11 September 2022 under the theme Invest to Protect.

The annual Global Week for Action on NCDs seeks to ensure NCD prevention and management get the attention and action they deserve, everywhere, for everyone.

In 2022, we are bridging the NCD Investment gap. This year is all about prioritising the urgent need for increased NCD financing to prevent and treat NCDs and build resilient health systems that leave no one behind.

Voices for change: Check out the new series of ‘vox pop’ short videos for the Global Week for Action on NCDs, 5-11 September. They feature a range of voices from the global NCD community.

“In Barbados we are investing to protect our children, our health systems and our economy. We invite other world governments to join us,” says Hon. G.P. Ian Gooding-Edghill, Minister of Health and Wellness.

Here are some of HCC and HCY’s contributions to the Global Week of Action on NCDs 2022.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

Investing in Non Communicable Disease (NCD) Prevention and Control in the Caribbean to Protect Our Future

An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure: Investing in Non Communicable Disease (NCD) Prevention and Control in the Caribbean to Protect Our Future, by Dr. Kimberly-Ann Gittens-Baynes.

During the Global Week for Action on NCDs— 5th to 11th September 2022, the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) along with civil society organizations around the world seek “to ensure NCD prevention and care get the attention and action they deserve, everywhere, for everyone”. This year, the campaign’s theme is “Invest to protect” and highlights the need for increased and urgent investment in NCDs. This blog is written in support of this initiative. Read more

Health Policy Victory Is Sweet in Barbados

Sugary drinks are a major driver of the global epidemic of chronic conditions like obesity and diabetes. One way to keep consumption under control is through fiscal policies like taxes on these health harming beverages. Francine Charles from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Barbados was at the frontline of the effort to move the Barbados sugary drinks tax increase forward. In this interview, she explains how they did it and how they are now working to see the implementation of diverse healthy food policies to reduce chronic disease and build a healthier population.

Listen here

The post Global Week for Action on NCDs 2022 – Invest to Protect appeared first on Healthy Caribbean Coalition.