With 14% of the population consisting of elderly citizens and statistics by the World Health Organization showing that the percentage of older persons is increasing at an alarming rate, providing proper care for them is of paramount importance.
Therefore, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) along with a number of government agencies has provided formal training in geriatric care for fifteen (15) caregivers in Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
PAHO’s Country Representative Tessa Stroude noted that the proportion of the world;s older people is expected to rise to 19% by 2050 so it has become necessary for caregivers to sharpen their knowledge and skills.
Chief Supervisor of the Geriatric Caregivers Programme Shonta Duncan in applauding the caregivers said that they need to ensure that the quality of care they deliver to the elderly is of the highest standard.
The curriculum for the training was developed by the T.A Marryshow Community College and delivered by facilitators Gloria Phillip- Smith, Matron Therese Hamlet and TAMCC Lecturer Walt Williams.
Also congratulating the caregivers was Minister for Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs Senator the Hon. George Prime. In his address he noted that while the elderly are not always easy to deal with, as trained caregivers they should let the old saying “patience is virtue” become their motto.
IMPROVEMENT IN THE CARE OF THE ELDERLY EXPECTED
Thats great news. I visited someone at The Richmond Home last year August and the living conditions there was horrible. There was so much flies everywhere and the tiles on the floor was broken up, the windows were dirty with spider webs everywhere and not even a chair for people visiting to sit on. I saw some people who could not feed themselves just given their food and left alone. One woman was walking around serving food with her handbag on her shoulders.Living conditions just did not semm apppropriate for human beings to live in. The Minister of Health needs to look into Grenada's only home for the aged.
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By: spiceb 3/31/2012 4:23:17 PM
If what is written above is for real i would also like to congratulate thoes persons involved in getting such caring thinking on board here in Grenada because for too long the very old in our communities have been neglected to say the least especially in our hospitals,where some of our doctors and Nurses seems to think that because they dress pretty in these uniforms they then forget that their job is nursing and caring for the sick and for thoes needing care especially the old and that also goes to some of our senior citizens home care, for some of these places are in a terrible state (health wise) and i am as suprise as others as to why it has taken our ministry of health so long to do something about the bismal state our health care system is here in Grenada, and it took an outside agency to wake us up in terms of caring for our elderly in our communities so come on you minister of health please remember that it is the old older people in our communities who were and is the back bone of the bridges that built todays Grenada.
one love
