Those types of regenerative medical treatment, which are now being offered by Woodland’s Hospital in association with the Trinidad-headquartered Fidelity Healthcare Ltd, were launched ...

The belief that men do not pay enough attention to their health was dispelled on Saturday morning when Cancer Support Services held a Prostate Specific and Carcinoembryonic Antigen (PSA/CEA) Screening. The hosting of the event was symbolic because it coincided with World Cancer Day.

This session, which took place at their office at Dayrells Road in Christ Church, attracted a large crowd.

Janette Lynton, Executive Director and Founder of Cancer Support Services, was pleased with the turnout. She noted this was their first event for the year. Events are scheduled for every six weeks. She said,  “We started at 10 am and so far we have 160 people waiting but we have seen 100 already and it’s just 12 pm and we are finishing at 1 pm.”

Lynton is appreciative of the support provided by corporate Barbados. She stated, “I want to thank all of the persons that came on board with us, Summit Rehab Centre, who sponsored 10 men today and I also want to thank the lab and all of the persons who have donated the water, everything today.”

She confirmed, “We are seeing quite a few younger persons coming out, which  is very commendable and we trust that this will continue on that trend.” She emphasised, “Although the person may get a high PSA that does not mean it is cancerous. It can be an infection; it can be so many other different things. But we always recommend that they take the results to their physician and if they don’t have a physician, we would recommend one and we usually follow up with them so that they are not left out there alone.” The procedure involves a blood test and there is nothing to fear. “Early detection is the key,” she assured.

Michael Cobham, who attended the screening, described the experience  as a pleasant one. “It was a long wait because there were a lot of people that came out to get tested today but the process itself was very simple.”  He advised, “I encourage everyone to come out. I came for my general health. Getting older I want to know more about what is happening to me. This was an opportunity to come and get the test at a discounted price, so I took it.”

Though the recommended age for the test is 35, if  there is a strong history of cancer in their family, individuals are encouraged to get screened at an earlier age.

Cancer survivor Ian Carrington was on hand promoting his self–published  book An Unexpected Challenge : My Battle with Cancer, which chronicles his  experience with the disease. He shared, “Twenty- eight years ago I had a confrontation with cancer and I thought I should share my story, looking at the impact on myself, my family and looking at the methods I used to heal and perhaps more importantly the lessons I learned in the process.”

A cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. He said , “I subsequently learned there are a lot of people that survive it but a lot of people are not aware of that.” He reinforced that persons should listen to their bodies, if something does not feel quite right they should not hesitate to get the issue checked. His book is available at local bookstores across the island.

Summit Rehab Centre  representatives were on site displaying some of the products  that they offer. Students from Ross University School of Medicine conducted free blood pressure checks.

A similar exercise will take place in St Lucy in March to capture the northern catchment area.  (STT)

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Santo Domingo, DR
In Villa Liberación del Almirante in Santo Domingo East, cholera is “under control” after the area became a focus of concentration of the disease. At the same time, the residents of the crowded sector have heeded the call of the health authorities to be immunized against the disease, registering at least 2,804 people who received the dose.

Of the people inoculated, 1,825 were students of the neighboring schools. In contrast, the rest were inoculated at the Diagnostic Tent, vaccination posts in the Almirante, house-to-house campaigns, and the health area of the district.

Rafael Güichardo, risk manager of this health area, highlighted the municipalities’ receptiveness to oral vaccination at the health posts and house-to-house campaigns.

“They have grasped the message we have for them to get vaccinated, because it is really for their own health,” he said.

Güichardo also highlighted that in the last few days, even though they continue to attend to people in the tent, no people have come with characteristic cholera symptoms such as dehydration, vomiting, and diarrhea.

“Patients come with different pathologies, such as headaches and different pathologies, but we are not really receiving patients with suspected cholera symptoms,” he added.

An average of four people come to the tent every day.

The service remains stable regarding the drinking water supplied by the Santo Domingo Aqueduct and Sewerage Corporation (CAASD) in the water tank in the diagnostic tent located in the Diagnostic and Primary Attention Center of the sector with the assistance of tanker trucks on a daily basis.

In addition, community members are supplied with kits containing, among other things, hand sanitizers and chlorine.

Residents follow protocols

For their part, the residents stated that they follow the hygiene protocols to avoid future contagions, such is the case of María de los Santos, who confessed to having been vaccinated and also to washing the food properly, as well as to close the garbage bags tightly until the garbage collection trucks come to pick up the garbage.

By Anesta Henry 

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) is continuing to work towards clearing the backlog of people awaiting elective surgeries.

That assurance has come from Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness with responsibility for the QEH, Dr Sonia Browne, who also told Barbados TODAY she was pleased the healthcare institution was on top of its cataract surgeries.

She congratulated medical personnel and other workers who contributed to clearing up the backlog in those surgeries “in a timely manner”.

“Now, the joint replacement surgeries have started and we are looking to really get that moving swiftly and in a practical way. Right now, the joint replacement surgeries are not going as fast as I would like it but we are getting there,” she said. 

“For the other surgeries, one of the delays was the availability of theatres. All of the theatres that are available, I believe, are in use.”

Dr Browne further explained that while the three theatres at the hospital’s Lion’s Eye Care Centre have been out of use, all major ophthalmology surgeries had to be diverted to the main theatres.

She said the hospital’s management was in the process of getting a loan to get the theatres at the Eye Care Centre repaired.

“We are looking to get those back on track and working again on their own to free up some of the other theatres,” the Minister said.

Responding to complaints from patients referred to the hospital for operations, Dr Browne said that while some complaints were valid, some surgeries were delayed due to reasons beyond the QEH’s control.

She said some patients would show up for operations but their test results showed that, for example, their diabetes “is out of whack, their hypertension is out of whack, they may have eaten when they shouldn’t”, leading to scheduled surgeries having to be postponed.

“I promise you that we are looking at all of that and we are trying to work with the doctors and nurses and everybody else to see where we can address that. The issue that we found is a delay in the start time for surgery and I think we have more or less addressed that, so they start on time and the process would flow,” Dr Browne said.

During a press conference in March last year, Minister of Health and Wellness Ian Gooding-Edghill said partnerships were being explored with Cuba to reduce the backlogs, adding there was  need for “out-of-the-box commercial thinking”.

He revealed at that time that part of the plan will be to get all 12 operating theatres back into operation to be utilised “day and night” for surgeries. anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

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Four children of different ages have been diagnosed with diphtheria at the Robert Reid Cabral Hospital. Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease.

The children come from communities in Barahona and Duvergé.

They are children from two families in two distant communities, implying an active outbreak in both communities.

The hospital said the children range in age from two months to four years. Diphtheria is a severe bacterial infection that affects the nose and throat mucous membranes.

The disease occurs when vaccination schedules fail. The medical literature states that the condition can be treated with medication, and in advanced stages, it can damage the heart, kidneys, and nervous system. However, this disease can be fatal in children.

Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of diphtheria almost always begin two to five days after contracting the infection and may develop symptoms such as a thick, gray-colored membrane lining the throat and tonsils. When you have the disease, you may have a sore throat, hoarseness, and swollen glands in the neck—shortness of breath or rapid breathing, runny nose, fever, chills, and tiredness.

Background
In 2021, the Ministry of Public Health issued an epidemiological alert due to the occurrence of diphtheria cases in different parts of the country. As of week 14, four have been confirmed.

By week 14 of the year 2021, eight deaths had been reported. In general, when cases occur, children have not been vaccinated or have incomplete doses.

In such situations, authorities urge the population to go to vaccination centers to follow up on the official vaccination schedule. The children admitted coming from Barahona and Pedernales. The provinces of Barahona and Independencia, belonging to the Enriquillo region, have reported several suspected cases of diphtheria and the death of a four-year-old child.

Donation of equipment
In another development, the Ministry of Public Health received a donation of US$160,000 from the Pan American Health Organization. The Government of the United States provided the funds. The donation consists of two waste management kits and two imaging kits.

They will be destined exclusively for mobile hospitals within the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) program of the Risk Management Directorate.

The donation seeks to contribute to improving preparedness and response capacity.

The Barbados Cancer Society (BCS) says while there has been a rapid increase in new breast cancer cases coming through its programme, there has been no Stage 4 diagnoses in the last five years.

There have also been no deaths recorded by the programme from 2018 to December 2022 among those diagnosed at stage 0-1 with the disease.

Medical Coordinator of the Breast Screening Programme (BSP), Dr Shirley Jhagroo, has attributed the absence of stage four patients to the ongoing awareness programme.

“I am not saying that there hasn’t been any, but at the Breast Screening Programme we have not had a new patient at stage 4. And this I honestly attribute to awareness, and the walk (Walk for the Cure) has made the difference. 

“Unfortunately there was an increase in the number of new cases diagnosed per year, from 26 in 2018 to 72 in 2022. I don’t know if we can attribute this to the new [screening] machine, up and running since September last year, that we are getting new patients with earlier diagnoses,” Dr Jhagroo said.

Her disclosures were made on Thursday as she delivered remarks at the presentation of funds raised through the CIBC FirstCaribbean 2022 Walk for the Cure activities to the BSP at the Hilton Hotel.

Dr Jhagroo said that the programme continues to be self sufficient and noted that the funds raised from the walk along with donations, go towards purchasing and maintenance of equipment. The money also subsidises investigations such as breast biopsies, mammograms and ultrasounds. 

The doctor said that the education and awareness campaign to save lives through early detection has made a difference in the attendance numbers at the clinic, as is evidenced, by the number of self-referred patients moving from 15 per cent 10 years ago, to almost 40 per cent in 2022.

She said over 125 000 clients have benefited from the services of the BSP, thanks to the Walk for the Cure fundraising activities.

“Over the past two decades there has been a continuous upgrade in breast imaging technology. We have been very fortunate to have the resources to keep up with this changing technology. The programme is serviced by a $1.2 million state-of-the-art 3D mammogram with special features for imaging male breast. . .,” she said.

Dr Jhagroo said that in 2023, the Breast Screening Programme intends to add a stereotactic attachment to the present 3D mammogram machine. The special attachment, one of the best currently on the market, will allow the BSP to carry out breast biopsies.

“We are hoping that this will improve our early detection. Its cost at the moment is over $170 000. So thank you so much CIBC, we are going to have that.

“I have sort of ordered it, but the [manufacturers] are coming in to meet with us to be committed and for us to give our deposit and give them details of what we really want,” she said.

FirstCaribbean’s Director Retail Banking Channels, Michelle Whitelaw, indicated that in addition to the 2022 Walk for the Cure activity, the financial institution also embarked on a series of fundraising activities which raised BDS$200 000. 

(AH)

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According to the state institution, the first phase of house-to-house implementation affected neighborhoods in Santo Domingo Este, particularly Villa Liberación, which is currently the main focus of the bacteria that transmits the diarrheal disease and where over a thousand people, including teaching staff, administrative staff, and students from local schools, have gone to get vaccinated.

Rafael Guichardo, the risk manager for Health Area I, reported that students from six schools in the demarcation began receiving the oral dose of “Euvichol-Plus” on Tuesday. While the Minister of Public Health, Daniel Rivera, stated that vaccine doses have been administered in the provinces of Elas Pia, Pedernales, and Dajabón, as well as the La Victoria National Penitentiary in Santo Domingo and the Rafey Hombres Correction and Rehabilitation Center in Santiago de los Caballeros, since yesterday.

“Today we also announce to the country that it is being vaccinated at the border, in Elias Piñas, Pedernales, Dajabón, and Bánica, but say Cesfront, the military corps on the border is also being vaccinated,” he said.

According to Jesus Suardi, the director of Public Health Area IV, approximately 1,300 doses will be administered, with 1,032 of them going to children and the rest to teaching and administrative staff.

Suardi stated that the schools selected were Aida Cartagena Portalatn, Fe y Alegria, and the Molac Study Center. Parental consent will be required for minors to receive the oral vaccine. “We started with the teaching and administrative staff and will continue with the children tomorrow (today),” the doctor explained.

Suardi stated that health personnel continues to work in the area on education, prevention, and assistance and that cholera vaccinations continue in schools and the portable tent installed in the La Zurza play and the Moscoso Puello Hospital.

The donation of two ambulances by the Maria Holder Memorial Trust to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) has led to the Emergency Ambulance Service (EAS) now being equipped with nine vehicles to respond to the 14 000-16 000 emergency calls it receives annually.

The trust handed over the two ambulances during a ceremony at the EAS Wildey, St Michael headquarters on Monday, where trustee, King’s Counsel, Peter Symmonds, announced that in order to help the service achieve its ideal target of 12 functioning ambulances, the registered charity had agreed to purchase two ambulances in 2024, provided that the QEH purchases one this year.

Symmonds noted that in addition to the two fully-equipped ambulances, the trust also donated two additional stretchers, safety vests, helmets and dispatcher headsets. He said the entire donation cost an estimated $400 000.

“In order to make the appropriate intervention, with equipment should also come training and we have agreed to assist with funding the training of up to 15 dispatchers by April 2023 so that when you call 511 you should be assured that you are speaking to personnel who are continually trained to carry out their duties. This is therefore seen as a complement to the provision of the ambulances and equipment which we fervently expect will be immediately put to good use,” Symmonds said.

The trustee also indicated that the staff of the trust has received presentations on healthcare from EAS Medical Consultant, Dr David Byer.

Dr Byer said while the service responds to 50 to 60 calls per day, the additional ambulances allow for the fleet to last longer while undergoing the necessary servicing and preventative maintenance.

“This bolsters our fleet. Our target is between 10 to 12 vehicles and this allows for the fleet to last longer because it allows us to do the necessary maintenance. I mean not all 10 to 12 would be off the road at the same time, but we would be able to pull them out and do the necessary servicing and the necessary preventative maintenance to allow them to last for a very long time.

“We are working with the trust in terms of supporting training with respect to the dispatchers and that is something that we are looking at in 2023. And further down the road, that is basically very preliminary, we are going to be looking at paramedic training as well as possibly driver training for emergency drivers of the vehicles so that they can function a lot safer,” Dr Byer said.

Sales Director of NASSCO Limited, Roger Moore, who sourced the ambulances, said that a down payment for an additional vehicle has already been made and suppliers have already started manufacturing it.

“In the next couple months you should be receiving that. We hope that it would not take as long as these last two took, but this is a quieter time, the end of the year is always a busy time, so I think that this time you should be receiving it much sooner so that you can get the other one ordered before the year is out,” Moore said.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr Sonia Browne, extended gratitude to the Trust for the donation and the pledge to train staff of the EAS.

She said the trust’s contribution adds to the care and treatment of patients, specifically due to the decrease in waiting times and availability of ambulances and provision of-well trained staff.

“All these of course will impact positively on morbidity and mortality rates from injury and illness throughout the island,” Dr Browne said. (AH)

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Adopting a healthy lifestyle in Barbados can be achieved without excessive spending.

So says vice-president of the Dietitians of Barbados, Meshell Carrington who said, contrary to popular belief, eating healthy could be achieved at an affordable price.

Speaking during an event hosted by the Alexandra School Alumni Association at the school’s, Queen Street, St Peter, grounds over the weekend, Carrington said ground provisions and legumes were inexpensive, healthy options.

She pointed out that breadfruits could be purchased for around $3, while some legumes were on the market for even cheaper at around $1.60. Foods such as green plantain, yam, sweet potato, cassava, eddoes and brown rice were all available on the local market.

However, Carrington said a 2019 food survey done in Barbados revealed that sugar-sweetened beverages, poultry, ground provisions, rice, bread, cake, sweetbread, pasta, dairy products and fish were the preferred foods of Barbadians.

“The common theme was that the Barbadian diet was characterised by high sugar intake, with most of the sugar coming from added sugars. There are also high intakes of fat and salt and the dietary intake of fibre is inadequate…along with low intakes of fruits and vegetables,” she said.

“Meats are one of the major foods found to be consumed but we don’t need that much meat. People could probably reduce the meat consumption a bit and eat more legumes which are cheaper. Staples are the main source of carbohydrates, provide energy and also provide the body with dietary fibre.”

Additionally, she said a Barbados Food Consumption Survey done in 2000 revealed that on average, Barbadians ate out twice weekly.

Carrington also urged Barbadians to stay away from “ultra-processed” foods. She said a 2015 survey showed that 65 per cent of adults in Barbados were classified as either overweight or obese.

She told the session that the most consumed ultra-processed foods in Barbados included soft drinks, sandwich bread, salt bread, french fries and cereal.

“It [ultra-processed food] is defined as the formulation of ingredients, mostly of exclusive, industrialised use. So they are highly processed and they are typically created by a series of techniques and processes…There is no real nutritional value in them and all they provide are calories,” Carrington cautioned.

“The goal is really trying to get some energy balance, so the energy or calories that you are taking in, needs to equal the energy or calories that are going out. It is necessary to control energy because it is necessary to control weight.”

The dietitian explained that poor diets were the primary causes of hypertension, diabetes and some forms of cancer.

Carrington said it remained a concern that a large number of children in Barbados were obese.

“One out of every three children in Barbados between the ages of nine and 10 are either obese or overweight. That’s concerning because the earlier you start the more complications you will have because of the ill effect of the disease,” said Carrington. She also pointed out that 12 per cent of those children had elevated systolic blood pressure. (RB)

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