Health Ministry rallies to aid flood victims

The Ministry of Health has implemented several measures to bring medical relief and increased access to health services to residents of west Trinidad who were affected by last Saturday’s flooding. In a news release yesterday, the ministry said it was an active member of the emergency operating centre that has been set up at the Diego Martin Regional Corporation to ensure  the mental and physical health needs of the community were adequately addressed.

It said the ministry’s public health inspectors had been deployed to the affected communities since last Saturday, to provide ongoing environmental, food and water surveillance, and will continue to provide this support to the Diego Martin Regional Corporation. Any areas requiring treatment have been referred to the regional corporation for remedial action.

The statement said medical teams from the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) have been conducting medical assessments daily for people at the shelters set up at the La Seiva and Diamond Vale Community Centres, and providing medical assistance as required, eg replacement of lost medication and relief for minor ailments. Arrangements have been put in place for the daily transport to nearby health facilities of people at these shelters who require follow-up treatment.

In addition to the normal opening hours at the St James District Health Facility (24 hours), and 8 am to 4 pm at all health centres in the North West region, arrangements have been put in place to offer extended opening hours to residents of the Diego Martin community at two health facilities. Petit Valley Health Centre now has opening hours of 8 am to 9 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the Maraval Health Centre will be open from 8 am to 9 pm on Wednesdays.

To ensure medical care is accessible to all, medical outreach clinics are being offered via a mobile clinic, which has been visiting different locations in Diego Martin. This one-day clinic will be done by NWRHA in conjunction with the Forum of Indian Nationals in T&T and the Red Cross Society of T&T.

The ministry said public health inspectors have been deployed to the affected communities since last week Saturday to provide ongoing environmental, food and water surveillance, and will continue to provide this support to the Diego Martin Regional Corporation. Any areas requiring treatment have been referred to the regional corporation for remedial action.

Officers of the Insect Vector Control Division have been doing biocidal spraying (disinfection) around the affected areas to discourage the outbreak of disease and illness and will continue to provide this support to the Diego Martin Regional Corporation as required.