Medical Health
Health ministry seeking to reduce pressure on A&E
(CNS): The Ministry of Health and Wellness says it is working on optimising services that can reduce the pressure on Grand Cayman’s only accident and emergency room located at the HSA hospital in George Town. Officials said that as part of the ministry’s aim to improve overall patient outcomes, it is looking at how enhancing […]
Hospital beds short of population needs
(CNS): Answering a parliamentary question about the number of inpatient hospital beds in the Cayman Islands, Health Minister Sabrina Turner gave an answer that does not arithmetically compute. She said that there are currently 226 beds across all of the public and private facilities. But when she broke down the numbers, they added up to […]
Urgent call for O- and O+ blood ahead of storm
(CNS): As Hurricane Beryl approaches, the Cayman Islands Blood Bank urgently requests donations of O Positive and O Negative blood today and tomorrow (Tuesday and Wednesday), as these two blood types are critically needed to ensure the Blood Bank is prepared for any emergencies that may arise during and after the storm. “With the threat […]
Permits needed for importing unpasteurised products
(CNS): Following reports of an outbreak of avian influenza (bird flu) in cows across various American states, the Cayman Islands Department of Agriculture has said that it will, at some unspecified date, require an import permit to bring in unpasteurised products to safeguard the public. However, local food importers do not import unpasteurised products, and […]
Blood bank seeks more donors to end imports
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Blood Bank, the only supplier of blood products on the island, is calling on members of the public to become donors, given the crucial role voluntary donations play in saving lives and maintaining public health. Last year, 1,600 people (3.5% of the population) donated blood, representing a 9% increase compared to […]
Parents warned about chickenpox outbreak in schools
(CNS): The Public Health Department has recorded six confirmed cases of chickenpox reported within the school system. Five students and one teacher have been infected. A press release said the PHD is working closely with the schools and relevant healthcare providers to manage the situation and prevent further spread of the disease. As part of […]
Pharmacy Act to modernise 45-year-old law
(CNS): Parliament is expected to debate a new bill next month to replace the existing outdated legislation relating to pharmacies and the dispensing of medicines that was first enacted in 1979. The Pharmacy Act, 2024 repeals the old law and introduces a new regulatory regime for the importing and making of medicines and the wholesale, […]
3 ministers and MP hand-deliver $80k of aid to Roatan
(CNS): Three Cabinet ministers, an MP, a number of public servants and private sector delegates were all sent to deliver around CI$80,000 worth of medical supplies this week on a Cayman Airways flight to Honduras. A devastating fire burned down the only public hospital in Roatan on 19 April and four days later, the Bay […]
Cabinet re-jigs $8 million to pay for locals’ healthcare
(CNS): Less than four months into the current budget cycle, Cabinet has approved changes to the health ministry’s appropriations for this year to cover some $8 million in medical bills for overseas patients, the elderly, people who are inadequately insured and those in need of chronic care and other treatments. This ever-increasing healthcare requirement for […]
CMO: Despite huge spending health system failing
(CNS) UPDATED with survey links: The amount of money spent on healthcare in the Cayman Islands is “astonishing” but the system is failing, Chief Medical Officer Nick Gent has said, as the health ministry launches a public consultation on a National Health Strategy. Dr Gent said the cost of healthcare here “worries me hugely” and […]
Turner begins work on health plan 3 years into the job
(CNS): The Ministry of Health and Wellness will launch a one-month consultation period on 1 May to help determine a national health strategy, some three years after Sabrina Turner took up the portfolio in April 2021. The consultation will help develop an overarching guiding document for the Cayman Islands that defines the ten-year strategic directions […]
