Singh credits quick resumption of service after Beryl to planning
Published:Monday | July 15, 2024 | 12:05 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Hanover Health Department (HHD) was able to maintain its services across that parish throughout the passing of Hurricane Beryl, with full health services available in the remote areas within a day of the passing of the Category 4 hurricane.
There are 19 health centres and one type C hospital (Noel Holmes Hospital) operating within the parish of Hanover.
“I am happy to report that we [at the HHD] resumed service immediately after the hurricane. On Thursday, three health centres were opened, with doctors and nurses there, and subsequently, on Friday we resumed full service, and I have that consolation here that we tried to resume our services as quickly as possible, and we were successful,” Parish Medical Officer Dr Kaushal Singh reported during the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) meeting last week.
He was tabling a report in the Health Department’s monthly report in the HMC’s meeting room in the parish capital, Lucea.
“Almost 50 per cent of our health centres got hit by the hurricane. Some [had] roof damage. In some places, we had trees falling, but we managed. Thanks to my team, we went to the different health centres and tried to open them despite the situation in the different areas, and we were able to resume our full services within days,” he stated.
Singh said that although there was no electricity in almost all the areas, the HHD team managed to secure the drugs and vaccines at the various locations within the parish by moving them to safe areas with the necessary standby utility.
While boasting that the disaster-preparedness system that the HHD had put in place worked for that department, Singh said, “I want to assure the parish, once we have accessibility to an area, we are going to respond on time, during disaster, pre-disaster and post-disaster.”
According to a written report tabled by the HHD at the meeting, it had started revisiting its disaster preparedness preparations from the start of the hurricane season on June 1.
The report stated that climate change and the water situation in the parish of Hanover were matters of concern.
Meanwhile, information out of the HHD is that a daily schedule of spraying for mosquito larvicidal and adulticidal activities across the parish is now in place to respond to complaints about an increase in the mosquito population.