Centenarian Lorna Austin was a woman of few words on Wednesday, and her memory may not be the sharpest, but friends and family who helped her celebrate her milestone were full of stories of how lively she was in her younger years.

Their recollections also shared a similar theme—that of a woman whose life focused on the love of her family.

During an intimate party held at her Christ Church home, the Guyanese-born mother of three was mostly quiet as a fuss was made about her.

Her daughter, Betty-June Leacock, told the media that the day was a special one for her and her family.

“She is actually only the second [centenarian] that I have encountered. I am still in awe of my own mum as a centenarian and I think it has been a wonderful day so far. I feel blessed to have my mom at 100 years and for others to come and share in the experience,” she told the media as she indicated her mother was in good health.

Her brother Nigel Austin mirrored those sentiments, adding, “She is an example of what perseverance and resolve are all about… a perfect example of that. I hope to be able to follow in those footsteps.”

He spoke about some of his mother’s life experiences, including studying in England, doing secretarial work at The Barbados Advocate, and being a secretary for the late Sir William Arthur Lewis during his time as President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

However, he said it was her love for her late husband, Leo Austin, that meant the most to her during her lifetime, and she felt the weight of his passing in 1996.

“Daddy always had like this umbrella over her to protect her; he had her like in a bubble. Anything she wanted, Daddy took care of. She was devastated when he passed. “We were really worried about her,” Austin recalled.

“Over time, she bounced back and at that age, she then decided to embrace technology. She got onto the computer, learned how to use [it], communicated with all of her friends overseas via email, [and] took all of the bookings for the apartments, which she rented out, via email.

“I know the days where she would say ‘Nigel, when you come over I want you to look at the computer for me, I am not getting online’ or ‘there is an email I want to send but these attachments are not going’. She was fascinated all of the time with technology. Then when cell phones came about, where we could take pictures and so on, up till now she is still amazed about how you could take photographs on a cell phone.”

The centenarian’s best friend, Norma Odle, spoke about their friendship.

“We had great times together [and] always kept close together. As the children came on, I even remember Old Year’s Night when Leo and Lorna would bring the kids over to my house with my kids, and the four of us, my husband and I and Lorna and Leo, would go dancing, [and] bring back home the top hats for the children the next morning.

“We had some beautiful times together… never left each other out. Since my husband died 28 years ago, Leo passed the year after him, and Lorna and I kept very close always,” she said.

Odle said that while Austin no longer remembered her, the love she had for her close friend had not faded.

“She doesn’t know me now but I am still close in heart with her…. I love her very much,” she said.

Representatives from the Barbados Association of Retired Persons as well as the National Union of Public Workers paid tribute to Austin during the celebrations.

The centenarian has three children and five grandchildren, most of whom still live in Barbados. (SB)

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Centenarian Lorna Austin was a woman of few words on Wednesday, and her memory may not be the sharpest, but friends and family who helped her celebrate her milestone were full of stories of how lively she was in her younger years.

Their recollections also shared a similar theme – that of a woman whose life focused on the love for her family.

During an intimate party held at her Christ Church home, the Guyanese-born mother of three was mostly quiet as a fuss was made of her.

Her daughter Betty-June Leacock told the media that the day was a special one for her and her family.

“She is actually only the second [centenarian] that I have encountered. I am still in awe of my own mum as a centenarian and I think it has been a wonderful day so far. I feel blessed to have my mom at 100 years and for others to come and share in the experience,” she told the media as she indicated her mother was in good health.

Her brother Nigel Austin mirrored those sentiments, adding: “She is an example of what perseverance and resolve is all about… a perfect example of that. I hope to be able to follow in those footsteps.”

He spoke about some of his mother’s life experiences, including studying in England, doing secretarial work at The Barbados Advocate, and being a secretary for the late Sir William Arthur Lewis during his time as President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

However, he said it was the love for her late husband, Leo Austin that meant the most to her during her lifetime and she felt the weight of his passing in 1996.

“Daddy always had like this umbrella over her to protect her, had her like in a bubble. Anything she wanted, Daddy took care of. She was devastated when he passed…. We were really worried about her,” Austin recalled.

“Over time, she bounced back and at that age, she then decided to embrace technology. She got onto the computer, learned how to use [it], communicated with all of her friends overseas via email, [and] took all of the bookings for the apartments, which she rented out, via email.

“I know the days where she would say ‘Nigel, when you come over I want you to look at the computer for me, I am not getting online’ or ‘there is an email I want to send but these attachments are not going’. She was fascinated all of the time with technology. Then when cell phones came about, where we could take pictures and so on, up till now she is still amazed about how you could take photographs on a cell phone.”

The centenarian’s best friend Norma Odle spoke about their friendship.

“We had great times together [and] always kept close together. As the children came on, I even remember Old Year’s Night when Leo and Lorna would bring the kids over to my house with my kids, and the four of us, my husband and I and Lorna and Leo, would go dancing, [and] bring back home the top hats for the children the next morning.

“We had some beautiful times together… never left each other out. Since my husband died 28 years ago, Leo passed the year after him, and Lorna and I kept very close always,” she said.

Odle said that while Austin no longer remembered her, the love she had for her close friend has not faded.

“She doesn’t know me now but I am still close in heart with her…. I love her very much,” she said.

Representatives from the Barbados Association of Retired Persons as well as the National Union of Public Workers paid tribute to Austin during the celebrations.

The centenarian has three children and five grandchildren, most of whom still live in Barbados. (SB)

The post Austin showered with praise on 100th birthday appeared first on Barbados Today.

View the full post Wastewater system for La Calome Housing Development on NOW Grenada.

Essential medicines are defined as drugs that meet the priority healthcare needs of the population.

The need for effective treatments for obesity is pressing, with over 650 million adults worldwide now classified as obese, more than triple the rate in 1975, and a further 1.3 billion classified as overweight. Approximately 70% of those affected live in low- and middle-income countries. The number of people with obesity is projected to rise to 1.9 billion by 2035, meaning almost one in four people worldwide will have the condition. Similarly, it is estimated that almost 400 million children will be affected by obesity by 2035, representing almost one in five children globally.

Obesity is associated with over 200 other health conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, fatty liver, and certain types of cancer. A WHO advisory panel will be reviewing new drug requests next month, with an updated list of essential medicines expected to be released in September.

The Canadian government on Tuesday inked a CDN$2.5 million agreement with the non-governmental organisation, Giving Health to Kids, to improve maternal, newborn and child health in Guyana’s hinterland after research showed some worrisome findings. President of Giving Health to Kids, Associate Clinical Professor at Mc Master University, Dr Narendra Singh said the five-year project has ...

By Sheria Brathwaite

The Black Rock, St Michael resident at the centre of the environmental issue affecting St Stephen’s Nursery School says she was shocked that a problem with odour from her chicken pens was not brought to her attention by the school’s administration before it became a national issue.

On Monday, the 60-year-old woman who did not want to be identified, told Barbados TODAY that she had no idea her chicken coop was affecting the school, which is an arm’s length away from her family home. She said she is somewhat puzzled about the turn of events that threw the matter onto the national stage.

Particularly troubling for her, was that her family has had a long-standing relationship with the school and they always did anything they could for the wellbeing of the students and staff.

She questioned why school officials did not contact her about the problem first before it was escalated.

“The scent was unknown to us and nobody ever came to me and tell me about the chicken pens. Nobody came here and had a talk with me. I didn’t even know it was in the paper till somebody phone and tell me,” she said. “It made me feel very bad and shocked. I have a lot going on right now. I have to bury my aunt Wednesday and my uncle died four months ago and now this here. It is torture, it is hell, but my God, My Redeemer lives.”

The woman said that management at the school had contacted her prior about an overhanging mango tree that was causing a mess on the school’s compound and she believes that the same way she was contacted about the fruit free, the odour from her pens could have been brought to her attention.

“In January when the headmistress wanted the mango tree cut down she came and holler for my name. So if she knew she could smell chickens, before it blew up like this, she could have come here the same way she came here before and call me, but she said nothing. She had a right to come to me and tell me instead of making it a whole issue.

“If she could come to me in January that means we were corresponding. She has called me on my phone too, on my landline, so she has my number. So why now, she couldn’t contact me? 

“It didn’t have to escalate to this. They treated me like I am a damn criminal. If she had tell me she was smelling something I would come and rectify the odour.

“. . .Then when I heard they had the children at the church, that they had their lunch in the yard and had to walk through the graveyard to get to the washroom, I thought that was more unsanitary than what they say I was doing to them.”

The environmental problem affecting the school was first raised on Monday March 13 when the school closed early and two days later, parents were given the option to collect their children from the facility though it remained open. The school was closed again on Friday March 17 and the Ministry of Education gave the assurance that the issue would have been rectified but the following Monday the school was closed again.

The next day students were relocated at the neighbouring St Stephen’s Anglican Church but that was later removed as an option after teachers and parents complained that the environment was not conducive to learning.

The ministry then closed the school for the remaining week and made provisions for online classes on Wednesday and Thursday.

Meanwhile, President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Rudy Lovell said that things went relatively smoothly as the students returned to the classroom on Monday.

“From all accounts things went well today. The staff is comfortable and the students are comfortable and we are thankful that it appears as if the issue has been resolved at least for the time being,” he said.

Meanwhile, the neighbour said that a health inspector told her she had to get rid of the birds and she did so at a loss to her.

Though she preferred not to go into detail about the situation she said she had been rearing broilers and layers for about a year. 

“I had to get rid of them before their time so I incurred losses,” she said about the last set of birds.

The woman’s 79-year-old mother, who also did not want to be identified, said that she was responsible for erecting the gate at the back entrance of the school as the school abuts and abounds her property. She added that when staff at the school needed supplies they would shout for her.

“When the water was off and they didn’t have water to wash up the wares I put my hose through the fence so the school meals workers could wash up. If they want anything they come here. If they want a shovel, they come here, if they want a broom they come here. 

This was going on for years,” she said.

Asked if any contact was made to the neighbour before the situation escalated, Lovell said: “That is not an issue that the union can speak on. All we can say is that concerns were brought to our attention by our members who teach at the school and we then brought those concerns to the Ministry of Education who then contacted the Ministry of Health.” 

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb

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Psychologist Shawn Clarke is urging the Government to incorporate the existing services of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in efforts to address the whopping increase in mental health cases since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The founder and director of Supreme Counselling for Personal Development made the suggestion in response to a recent disclosure by Minister of Health Dr the Most Honourable Jerome Walcott that the number of Barbadians seeking assistance for mental health issues had risen more than 200 per cent in the last three years.

Speaking in the Senate last week, Minister Walcott acknowledged that given those statistics, “we need to look at public education and the stigma associated with mental health illness, [and] we need to look at community mental health”. 

“We need to integrate it totally into the polyclinic system. We are expanding the numbers of psychiatrists and counselling psychologists in the community because we need to move it into the community,” he had said.

While agreeing that was “a positive move”, Clarke emphasised the need for the Government to utilise services and programmes which smaller NGOs have already started.

“Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, there are a number of organisations in Barbados, like Supreme Counselling, who have been offering such services to the community, and we are on the ground. So, we know the people, we know where they are at, [and] we know the persons who would really need to access the services,” he told Barbados TODAY.

“We have to make these services readily available to the community and we also need to make it free of cost so that persons who need to access the services can do so.

“So it’s a good initiative but I think they need to collaborate more with the non-governmental organisations to access those services,” he added.

Clarke identified an initiative his NGO started in February under which he said its services have been decentralised and work is being done with specific communities, including The Pine, St Michael and Mason Hall Street,The City.

The psychologist told Barbados TODAY that given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the statistics revealed by the Health Minister were not surprising.

“If I cast my mind as far back as the beginning of COVID when we had our first shutdown, I remember warning Barbados that we would have to put measures in place to deal with the backlash from COVID and the effect that it would have on young people and their mental psyche,” he said.

“I remember at that time also warning Barbados that when the children return to school, for the first month or so, it could not be school as usual. We could not just go straight back to teaching the academics, but the school needed to do a lot of work bringing in counsellors, working with the guidance counsellors and so on, doing sessions to help the young people to cope with what they would have been through. 

“So I am not at all surprised by the statistics laid . . . by the minister. We ourselves at Supreme Counselling would have seen an increase of young people coming in or requesting our services for depression and anxiety,” Clarke added.

During his contribution to the debate on the Appropriation Bill, 2023, Minister Walcott said that some of the violence displayed by students in schools appears to be linked to mental health issues. (SB)

The post NGOs, Gov’t can cooperate to address spike in mental health cases appeared first on Barbados Today.

Some air traffic controllers at Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) have complained of varying health challenges which they blame on environmental issues associated with the tower.

Their bargaining agent – the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) is closely monitoring the situation as airport management takes steps to have the problem fixed.

Deputy General Secretary of the NUPW Wayne Walrond disclosed on Monday that management was in the process of hiring an expert to tackle any air quality issues in the control tower.

“I understand that staff at the Air Traffic Control tower have raised concerns with management about the air quality within that tower,” Walrond told Barbados TODAY.

“All I could say right now is that management is looking to procure the services of someone to have that assessment done. But we know Government’s procurement process and red tape…They are looking to have an independent and professional assessment on it to determine the next course of action. That’s all I can say about that development,” he added.

However, Walrond disclosed that the environmental problem had forced some staff to stay away from work on several occasions.

“It is my understanding that some people have been impacted in various ways [including] respiratory problems and some have had to take leave from time to time,” Walrond explained. Meanwhile, an industrial dispute between air traffic controllers and the government is nearing a resolution.

On Friday, the union announced that the standoff over the upgrade and appointment of air traffic control cadets as air traffic control officers grade 2, is anticipated to end by this Friday.

“This matter would have caused some unrest among the workers, and the union was mandated to ensure that it continued to vigorously pursue this matter. We are pleased to announce that in communication with the Ministry of the Public Service, they informed us of the progress made thus far,” said Walrond in an audio statement to Barbados TODAY.

“The matter is now to go before the Cabinet and we look forward to having it concluded by March 31,” he stated.

The union executive official recalled meeting on March 11 with the air traffic control officers to update them on the appointment and upgrade of the 25 cadets.

The air traffic control tower has direct responsibility for managing, handling, takeoffs, and all movement within the airport terminal control area. (EJ)

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By Emmanuel Joseph

The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) has given the Government until the end of May to settle a year-old COVID-19 hazard pay dispute with workers in the healthcare system.

Deputy General Secretary of the largest public sector trade union, Wayne Walrond told Barbados TODAY on Monday that if the matter is not resolved within the next two months, “we would have to go back and report to our membership about what happened and see what is the next move”.

He said the Government has failed to meet with the union to discuss its proposal, submitted last March, for healthcare workers at the polyclinics to receive a lump sum hazard payment.

“This is a full year and we haven’t even got an invitation around the table to sit down and even discuss it,” Walrond said.

 “The NUPW is appealing to the relevant authorities to have this outstanding matter addressed since there is gross discontentment among the healthcare workers.”

He explained that the proposal was submitted as an alternative to workers using the traditional claim form, given that some categories of workers who were at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic would have been excluded from receiving a hazard payment.

“In March 2022, the NUPW submitted a proposal to the Government for a lump sum payment to all healthcare workers, given that the claim form system would not have been an equitable criteria for granting the appropriate recognition for all healthcare workers in the public sector,” Walrond said.

Expressing disappointment there has been no movement on the matter, he added: “If we can thrash this out and have it settled urgently by no later than two months, we would be happy with that result…no later than the month of May. I think if they can get around the table with a sense of urgency and treat it as a non-salaried item, it could be addressed expeditiously.”

According to Walrond, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) approach of giving workers a monthly hazard allowance was a model the NUPW believed could be used.

“The medical doctors obviously would have the edge and the nurses…[but] even the security at the door who had to interact with the public…there is some rate for him, and give him a one-off payment,” he said. “We were willing to sit down and negotiate it. I put a proposal and this is a full year and I have not got around the table to discuss it.”

However, Walrond said he remains optimistic that the Government would seek to settle the matter. 

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

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HEALTH MINISTER CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY JUNIOR DOCTORS’ COMPLAINTS

By Jenique Belgrave

Minister of Health and Wellness Senator Dr The Most Honourable Jerome Walcott says public complaints about junior doctors working long hours have left him feeling like he was “stabbed in the back” because the issue was never raised with him.
The visibly upset Dr Walcott also insisted on Friday that plans were already in the works to get more medical practitioners at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in the next financial year.
Even so, he said, the 30-hour workdays doctors were complaining about were “part of the process” and were actually an improvement over what previously obtained.
“I feel as though I have been stabbed in my back because since I became Minister of Health, I met with the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) in December. We discussed a number of things. There was no issue mentioned in that discussion about junior doctors and their conditions of service…. Not a single junior doctor has asked to meet with me or has written me anything and that is why I feel particularly upset about it,” he told the media on the sidelines of a seminar to mark World Tuberculosis Day, at the Pan American Health Organisation.
“Even on Wednesday, I said that we are going to look at extending the hours in the operating theatres and, naturally, you will need more doctors. I spoke about anaesthetists and I spoke about categories of doctors. Even in the well of Parliament [during the Estimates debate], I said not only doctors but that we will need additional staff – medical and also additional technical people and stuff like this. I’ve been speaking and negotiating, and I’ve been stabbed in my back.”
After Government Senator Dr Crystal Haynes earlier this week, during debate on the Appropriation Bill, 2023 in the Upper House, called for an end to the more than 30-hour shifts junior doctors were working to safeguard both patients and healthcare providers, consultant physician at the QEH Dr Kenneth Connell drew further attention to the matter in an interview with Barbados TODAY, declaring it was a “dangerous” situation for both doctors and the public. Then on Thursday, a group of junior doctors spoke out about their experience in a statement sent to this media house, saying the workload had been so heavy, some of their colleagues had quit and some even required counselling.
However, the Health Minister insisted that long shifts were the norm not only here but in hospitals in developed countries.
He added that overall, conditions have improved.
“They have been improving over time. You are talking about 30 hours? I can speak of working 48 hours. We worked weekends straight and then continued working on Monday. We did. This is part of the process. All over the world, junior doctors complain about the length of days that they work and the hours they work. In some developed countries, they have set guidelines, but even where those guidelines are set, still doctors in the United Kingdom complain about conditions,” asserted the medical doctor who was accompanied by Minister with responsibility for the QEH Dr Sonia Browne.
Adding that the job is not a glamorous one, he declared: “Health care is not sitting down in an office at a desk or a computer and then leaving at 4.30 and being off for a weekend. That is not hospital medicine!”
Minister Walcott said 176 junior doctors and 12 sessional junior doctors are currently employed at the QEH and a case has been made for additional personnel to address staffing shortages there.
“During the Estimates process, I have been speaking to my colleagues in Cabinet, to the Prime Minister. In the well in Parliament, I [said] that we will need – and put a case for the employment of – additional junior doctors. I have said so since January,” he contended.
Responding to the suggestion that a shift system be introduced, Dr Walcott said while doctors in the Accident and Emergency department do work in shifts, staff are also on-call and junior doctors are compensated with allowances for their long hours.
Sources have informed Barbados TODAY that all junior doctors have been invited to a closed-door listening session on Monday at 2 p.m. in the QEH Auditorium to guide plans “to improve their working conditions and well-being going forward”.
In a statement sent to Barbados TODAY and signed by ‘Concerned Junior Doctors’, the medical professionals said the vicious cycle of long workdays and even longer on-call shifts continued to take a negative toll on their physical and mental well-being.
They said burnout and long sick leave were commonplace and called on authorities to give them relief.
They were supported in their call by BAMP president Dr Lynda Williams who welcomed “an urgent examination of the hours that junior doctors now work”.
“We fully support the need to transition to an ideal number of working hours that will allow them to have safe, productive and fulfilling lives and that will protect the public from harm,” she said.
jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb

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