Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony on Sunday announced that government was preparing to roll out a digital doctor appointments system for the first time in Guyana aimed at reducing overall wait times. “You will be able to have an app on your phone where you can then make appointments with the hospital, and when you ...

Medical Surveillance Officer Dr Dana Gomez in a video broadcast said more people were presenting with symptoms at healthcare facilities and that the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

She did not provide figures.

“Most of the affected individuals experience sudden onset of vomiting and diarrhoea, which usually resolve with treatment of the symptom. Acute gastroenteritis is an inflation of the stomach and intestines and can be caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, chemicals or medication,” she stated.

She warned that the “very contagious” strain of the virus also referred to as “the stomach flu most prevalent during the winter season has been circulating and has been the cause of many cases of gastroenteritis globally.”

Gomez is urging the public to take the necessary steps to prevent the spread of the virus, including practicing good hand hygiene by washing hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water, especially after vomiting, a bowel movement, and before handling food.

She also encouraged people with gastroenteritis to stay away from schools and places of employment and to seek immediate medical attention.

“The ministry also wishes to remind the public that we are currently in the flu season and persons may experience respiratory symptoms,” she said, adding that several influenza viruses including type A have been isolated and that the public should follow the health requirements to prevent the spread.

The post St Lucia records increase in gastroenteritis cases appeared first on Barbados Today.

The surge in patients presenting to the Accident and Emergency Department for treatment continues into a third consecutive day, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital said Saturday.

At 5 p.m., approximately 40 patients were waiting to be seen by doctors and nurses.

The department remains very busy and medical teams are reporting an increase in the number of patients presenting with respiratory illnesses.

In light of this, the QEH strongly encourages people who find themselves in crowded areas or events to wear a mask, especially over this long weekend.

The Emergency Ambulance Service has also been very busy with increasing calls and responses, bringing several patients to AED for emergency 2 care. This heightened activity has extended wait times in the department especially for non-critical patients.

Management at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is again appealing to the public if you are unsure about your medical complaint to determine if you need to present to the Accident and Emergency Department, please call the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS/Help Desk) at 536-4800 using regular or whatsapp calls from 9 a.ma to 12 midnight during this surge.

You also have the option of visiting the 24-hour Winston Scott Polyclinic at Jemmotts Lane, St Michael for treatment or your private General Practitioner.

If you present to the AED at this time with medical conditions which are not deemed life-threatening or an emergency, you may experience a longer than desired wait for treatment. However, life-threatening conditions, under AED’s Triage System will continue to be seen and treated immediately. These include patients who for example, have life, limb or sight threatening complaints, gunshot wounds, heart attacks, active seizure activity or a patient who needs resuscitation.

The QEH wishes to apologise for the inconvenience, and we will continue to provide updates on the situation.

(PR)

The post QEH: Surge in patients at A&E Department continues into 3rd consecutive day appeared first on Barbados Today.

ATLANTA, USA – New research in this week’s MMWR finds that most nursing home residents haven’t received an updated COVID-19 vaccine or the new RSV vaccine.

This year, for the first time, vaccines are available to protect older adults in the United States against all three fall/winter respiratory illnesses: flu, COVID-19 and RSV. Older Americans who are not vaccinated are at greater risk of serious illness.

Leading up to this virus season, and throughout the fall, CDC has worked with other federal agencies, state and local health departments, and health care partners to address vaccine access issues and encourage uptake.

CDC was a key participant in the Long Term Care Facility Summit on October 18, 2023, which was co-hosted by the secretary of health and human services and the director of the office of pandemic preparedness and response policy.

In addition to other activities, CDC regularly:

• Monitors all reports and data about the safety and effectiveness of these vaccines.
• Convenes bi-weekly calls with long-term care partners to address challenges/develop solutions.
• Works to improve equitable access to vaccines by connecting manufacturers with long-term care pharmacies to prioritize vaccine distribution for the Bridge Access Program.
• Distributes a weekly newsletter with respiratory virus resources and information specific to long-term care providers. (e.g., toolkits, FAQs, clinical resources, vaccine confidence resources)
• Supports the education of partners through participation in speaking engagements and webinars.
• Engages with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to identify solutions to address feedback from long-term care partners around billing and reimbursement challenges which have been a barrier to vaccine administration. As a result, CMS issued a letter to plans and pharmacy benefit managers to outline the concerns and provide guidance on ways to improve practices.

Health care providers can continue to do their part by offering recommended vaccinations to residents. Nursing homes are encouraged to collaborate with state, local and federal public health, and long-term care pharmacy partners to address barriers contributing to low vaccination coverage.

Vaccination is a key way to prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death from flu, COVID-19 and RSV.

The post CDC encourages vaccination against Flu, COVID-19 and RSV appeared first on Caribbean News Global.

Charrandass Persaud – the then governing APNU+AFC coalition parliamentarian who set in motion the virtual collapse of the David Granger-led administration by voting for a People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC)-sponsored no-confidence motion- has fallen seriously ill and was Wednesday evacuated to Canada, according to medical sources. One of the sources said Mr Persaud was suffering ...

Photo copyright PAHO

The President, Vice President, Board of Directors, member organizations and staff of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) are shocked and deeply saddened by the news of the passing of PAHO Director Emeritus and our very own Caribbean public health champion Dr. Carissa Etienne.

Dr Etienne, a Dominican national and a graduate of the University of the West Indies, had a distinguished career in the field of health, both at the national and international levels. She was a champion of universal health coverage, a leader in the fight against non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and COVID-19 in the Region, and oversaw the elimination of several communicable diseases, such as measles, rubella, and congenital rubella syndrome, in the Americas. Dr Etienne was an honorary Vice-President of the American Public Health Association and had many other affiliations and awards.

The HCC family expresses our deepest condolences to Dr Etienne’s family, friends, colleagues, and the entire health community in the Caribbean and beyond. Dr. Etienne was a visionary and a mentor who inspired many with her passion, dedication, and wisdom. She was a friend and a partner of the HCC, and we are grateful for her support and collaboration over the years. She will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by all of us who had the privilege of working with her or learning from her.

The HCC is a civil society alliance established to combat NCDs and their associated risk factors and conditions in the Caribbean. We share Dr. Etienne’s vision of a healthier and more equitable Region, and we will continue to work towards achieving it in her honor and memory. We join PAHO, the WHO and the Caribbean in celebrating her life and legacy, and hope that her example will inspire the next generation of health leaders in the Caribbean and beyond. May she rest in peace.

The post HCC Statement on the Passing of Dr. Carissa F. Etienne PAHO/WHO Director Emeritus appeared first on Healthy Caribbean Coalition.

Guyana’s Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony and the Ministry of Health on Saturday hailed the contributions of former Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Americas, Dr Carissa Etienne who passed away suddenly on Friday. “The Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony is saddened ...

On December 1st, the Healthy Caribbean Coaliiton (HCC) co-hosted The 2023 Conference on the Harmful Use of Alcohol in the English-Speaking Caribbean alongside its partners, The UWI Faculty of Medical Sciences, St. Augustine and the Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Network (ECHORN). The Conference was held at the UWI St. Augustine Campus, and live-streamed via the Zoom platform in recognition of the 8th Caribbean Alcohol Reduction Day (CARD).

This hybrid conference event was conceptualized by HCC Alcohol Policy Advisor, Professor Rohan Maharaj, and featured presentations from regional academics and public health experts, working in the field of alcohol research and policy. Seventeen (17) presentations were delivered, covering a wide range of topics including the impact of alcohol on public health, regional policy interventions, and the latest research findings. Lay summaries from those presentations can be found here: (click on the images below to enlarge)

The HCC and partners, with the support of PAHO, have hosted annual CARD events over the last seven years, under various themes and titles: The Misuse of Alcohol (2016); Drink Less, Reduce Cancer (2017); Youth: Let’s Talk about Alcohol (2018); Women and Alcohol (2019); Alcohol and COVID-19 (2020); Live Better, Drink Less: Challenges and Opportunities in the Caribbean (2021) and ‘The WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan (GAAP) 2022-2030 – Priorities / Implications for the Caribbean’ (2022).

This year’s hybrid conference theme was entitled “Alcohol Research- Evidence for Action and attracted over 100 virtual and 36 in-person attendees.

The objectives of the Conference and by extension, CARD 2023, were:

1. To provide an update on regional progress and priorities in alcohol policy development and implementation including discussion of barriers and opportunities.
2. To showcase alcohol research from across the English-speaking Caribbean.
3. To discuss how to better utilize research to advocate for accelerated implementation of alcohol policies in the Caribbean.
4. To highlight alcohol advocacy.

Throughout the day, four (4) sessions were held surrounding the issues of alcohol and population-based studies, regional policy, social impact and medical issues. Each session was followed by a brief Q&A segment.

• Download the Concept Note
• Download the Conference Abstract Supplement

The HCC and partners have held an annual Caribbean Alcohol Reduction Days (CARD) since 2016 you can find details of the other CARD days here.

The post 8th Caribbean Alcohol Reduction Day (CARD) 2023 appeared first on Healthy Caribbean Coalition.

“We must recognize the fundamental part that communities play in accelerating the HIV response,” Dr Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO director said. “Today, let us renew our commitment and support for community leadership as we work together to eliminate AIDS in the region of the Americas.”

Let communities lead is the theme for World AIDS Day 2023, emphasizing the role that organizations led by people most disproportionately affected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) play in the response to this four-decade epidemic.

“We are on the home stretch when it comes to ending AIDS as a public health challenge, but we will only achieve this goal if we empower the most affected communities that are being left behind,” Luisa Cabal, regional director of UNAIDS for Latin America and the Caribbean said. “Community leadership is essential in all HIV plans and programs, which must also have financing and protective regulations for their operation.”

To support the expansion of services to key populations and people living with HIV, PAHO and UNAIDS launched the “I am key” initiative in eleven countries in Latin America. This effort has led to strengthened partnerships with communities and civil society to support an accelerated response and people-centred service models.

It is essential that communities are empowered to develop their own strategies and reach those who need it most with information, HIV self-testing, antiretrovirals as a method of prevention (known as PrEP), and treatment to reach an undetectable viral load and break the chain of transmission.

As spaces free of stigma and discrimination, services led by community groups also increase acceptance and retention in care for gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers, trans people, and drug users – populations considered key in the response to HIV and among whom the highest number of new infections are reported.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, around 2.5 million people live with HIV. In 2022, about 130,000 people acquired the virus and 33,000 lost their lives from AIDS-related causes.

Expand PrEP to prevent new cases of HIV

Advances in medicine and public health have allowed rapid diagnosis and methods for combined prevention and effective treatment against the virus. A person with HIV who adheres to treatment no longer transmits the virus, and a healthy person who takes PrEP has 99 percent protection against HIV.

The region has also made great efforts to advance the implementation of PrEP, which is reflected in an increase in the number of countries with public health policies on PrEP and its greater availability. However, the number of people receiving it needs to be rapidly increased to prevent new cases of HIV.

Disseminating information to communities can support increased demand for PrEP, especially among those at highest risk of exposure. Additionally, through the PAHO Strategic Fund, countries in the Americas can purchase PrEP at affordable prices, a fundamental support given the limited resources of some health ministries.

As Guyanese police on Wednesday said reported two serious cases of domestic violence, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) announced that it would next week take a major step to improve the way the health sector in the Americas address violence against females. “To enable the health sector to play this important role, it is ...