Health

(CNS): According to a survey of the state of the country’s health in relation to chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) Cayman is at high risk. Most people are not eating the right foods, smoke and drink too much and are not getting enough exercise. Among both sexes more than a third (36.6%) were found to be obese and over 70% overweight. Along with high blood pressure, many people are also already suffering or at risk of heart disease or diabetes. In the first survey of its kind well over 40% of the people who were surveyed faced at least three of the five standard risk factors of smoking, eating less than five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, low level of activity, overweight or raised blood pressure.

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Hospital has been given the nod by the Caribbean Association of Medical Councils (CAMC) to begin internships for medical students. Health Minister Mark Scotland said a delegation from the regional medical association had come to Cayman in March to assess the George Town hospital and the Health Service Authority and had recently confirmed that the facility had been approved. This means that eight trainee doctors from around the region, including Caymanian medical students, can now do a year’s rotation at the local hospital in one of four specialist areas.

(CNS): The Public Health Department is advising parents and guardians that all reception students who entered the school system in September 2012, are required to have health screenings to continue to year one of primary education. “Since 2012, the reception program was extended to several primary schools, however School Entry Screening (SES) was not customarily done for children entering reception, due to their age,” explains School Health Coordinator, Joanna Rose-Wright. She adds,  “For the convenience of parents, health screenings will be conducted during the month of May for these students, at the school in which they are enrolled.”

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Nursing Association (CINA) will be hosting its 8th Annual Nursing Conference from 7 to 10 May at the Marriott Beach Resort, as part of the activities surrounding Nurses Week 2013. The 2013 conference theme is “Embracing Diversity in Nursing Care: Achieving Successful Patient Outcomes”.  Nurses, doctors and other healthcare practitioners will be educated on a number of topics such as The Gift of Diversity, Developing Cultural Competency, Sexuality and Gender Well-being, Dengue Fever and Teenage Suicide. The keynote speaker for the event is Dr. Audrey Gittens-Gilkes from St. Vincent and The Grenadines who will adhere closely to the theme by speaking on the topic of “Cultural Diversity in Nursing and Healthcare”.

(CNS): Cayman Brac’s Faith Hospital celebrated its 40^th anniversary last Sunday, 21st April. To mark the occasion, the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) is organising a series of events throughout the year starting with a customer appreciation day on Monday 22nd April.  There will also be a larger community celebration on Monday 1st July 2013. Faith Hospital is an 18-bed community hospital providing services to the Sister Islands, which include general medicine, internal medicine, surgery, anesthesia, obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics.

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) donated free ECG testing to swimmers who competed in the CARIFTA (Caribbean Free Trade Association) Swim Championships held in Kingston, Jamaica at the end of March. These tests are used to screen for underlying cardiac problems in athletes, part of a medical screening procedure required for all CARIFTA team members in which each individual’s physical and physiological state is assessed prior to the competition. Peter MacKay, President of the Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association (CIASA) said that Cayman made great strides at this year’s CARIFTA Swim Championships.

(CNS): The Wellness Centre has its first Caymanian ABA therapist in the form of Samantha Sampang-McCoy, a past John Gray High School student who graduated in 2012 from the University of Toronto,  Canada with a Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology and Health Studies. Samantha recently joined the Autism Services Team and will be delivering ABA Therapy to children with autism spectrum disorders in clinical, home and school settings. Samantha started as a volunteer intern at The Wellness Centre, before deciding to pursue a specialism in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), under the direct supervision of Sloane Pharr, Board Certified Behavioural Analyst and supervisor of The Wellness Centre’s ABA services team.

(CNS): Local health officials said this week that they are on alert and monitoring an outbreak of a new type of bird flu in China. The A (H7N9) has caused severe disease there with the WHO reporting 63 cases laboratory-confirmed including 14 deaths. More than a thousand close contacts of the confirmed cases are also being closely monitored. The source and mode of transmission are still unknown and until these are identified further human cases of infection are expected in China. Officials said the risk of international disease spread is considered to be low and as yet no human to human transmissions have occurred but investigations into a possible family cluster are on-going.

(CNS): Nominations have been invited for the 2013 Eloise Reid Award for Excellence in Nursing, which takes place during Nurses’ Week and acknowledges nurses for their services to the community. Nurses can be nominated by their peers, patients, or colleagues for exceptional contributions to the nursing profession in clinical practice and excellence in the application of nursing practice standards and the code of ethics. The deadline for submission of nominations is Friday, 26th April. Eloise Reid, former Health Services Authority CEO and Chief Nursing Officer for whom the award is named, explained, “There are so many dedicated, outstanding nurses living and working in the Cayman Islands.  This award is a great way to bring us all together to celebrate the hard work that nurses do, and recognise the vital support that they offer to the healthcare profession.”

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) Ethics Committee is inviting the public to discuss ethical issues at a seminar on 10 April. The aim of the committee is to provide support and advice to healthcare providers, as well as patients and their families when faced with an ethical dilemma. Speaking about the role of the Ethics Committee, Lizzette Yearwood, the HSA’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “We come across many situations where we may be faced with very tough issues with no easy solutions. Where these issues lead to ethical dilemmas, it may be helpful to talk things through with the Ethics Committee."

(CNS): Caymanians who want to train for the medical profession now have access to a full general nursing degree programme which starts at the beginning of the this coming academic year at UCCI. The Nursing Programme was developed in recognition of the fact that skilled and professional healthcare workers are important to support the healthcare sector in the Cayman Islands. The education minister said healthcare was immune to downturns, and with the advent of the Shetty hospital and medical tourism project, along with the growing needs in the existing local healthcare sector, the degree was an important step forward.

(CNS): Following the recent gastroenteritis outbreak in Turks and Caicos, Cayman’s Public Health Department (PHD) has issued advice about what to look out for and how to take precautions against becoming infected.  No instances of the condition are reported locally and officials in Cayman say they are monitoring the situation. In it’s advisory the health department says that Gastroenteritis, commonly referred to as “stomach flu”, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, which includes the stomach and intestines. It can be caused by several different types of viruses, including Noroviruses, rotaviruses and adenoviruses, as well as different bacteria, such as Salmonella, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidiosis. 

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) has announced that its patients can now order refills of existing prescriptions online. Refills ordered online are available on valid prescriptions and can be ready for collection within 24 hours. Patients requiring a new prescription, or those whose prescriptions no longer entitle them to refills, must make an appointment to see a doctor. Lizzette Yearwood, the HSA’s Chief Executive Officer, says, “This service allows patients to simply go online to order a repeat prescription, meaning patients can order their medication from the ease and comfort of their own home. This cuts down on the time and energy wasted in physically going to the hospital’s pharmacy to order a refill,” she confirms.

(CNS): As the general election campaign moves into full swing, Caymanians may be considering if ever there was a time when they needed to drink alcohol it’s now, but the National Drug Council is taking the issue seriously this month as booze remains Cayman’s most problematic drug, which has a far wider impact than problems suffered just by those who drink. April is alcohol awareness month and the local organisation said it is raising the genuine and worrying issue of second hand drinking and the negative impact alcohol can have even on those that abstain. “Second-hand drinking is an expression used to describe the impact of a person who is on the receiving end of someone’s drinking behaviour,” the NDC said.

(CNS): The Independent member for North Side has raised a number of questions about the Human Tissue Transplant Bill, which is currently awaiting final passage on the table of the Legislative Assembly. Ezzard Miller said the drafting of the legislation has left open the possibility that human organs and tissue could be sold for cash. He has also questioned who exactly, other than a medical practitioner, would be allowed to remove or authorise the removal of tissue as is currently indicated in the legislation before the House. The minister who brought the legislation, however, has denied that it provides for the sale of organs and said he would be clarifying exactly who is being referred to in clause 18 of the law.