Black Immigrant Daily News

The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) Certification Services Department on Thursday, September 29, 2022 recertified the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory after it demonstrated conformance to the requirements of the revised Guyana Standard (GYS 170:2021) – General requirements for the operation of a laboratory. This certification marks the first of the Laboratories in Guyana to conform to the requirements of this updated standard.

The certificate, which is valid for two years, along with a plaque was handed over to the laboratory by Ms. Rosmarie Liliah, Technical Officer within the GNBS Certification Services Department, during a brief ceremony at the Lab’s Parade Street, Georgetown location. Receiving the certificate on behalf of the establishment was Ms. Deborah Ramsay, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Hospital.

In addressing those at the ceremony, Ms. Ramsay firstly expressed gratitude on behalf of the medical institution to the GNBS for recertification to the new edition of the Laboratory standard. The Deputy CEO stated that the certification comes at a time when the hospital is celebrating its 77th anniversary. She acknowledged the efforts of the Laboratory Team in ensuring standards are maintained and added that the certification along with the overall ISO 15189 certification the Hospital received in 2021 will be able to address crucial aspects in the lab, including risks.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nolan Hawke, Quality Manager of the Laboratory stated that implementing standards requires teamwork and good leadership. He added, “I am happy that the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Laboratory was able to step over to the revised standard which includes pieces of the ISO 9001, ISO 15198 and the ISO 17025 international standards.” The Quality Manager encouraged other labs to not be timid about adopting the requirements of the revised standard because it will help to improve the overall national health care system.

On behalf of the GNBS, Technical Officer, Ms. Rosmarie Liliah congratulated the Lab for being the first to be certified to the revised National standard. She advised that impromptu audits will be conducted by the Bureau to ensure that conformance to the requirements is maintained.

The scope of the certification covers, hematology, serology, biochemistry and microbiology, immunology, parasitology/urology and Elisa/PCR.

Through its Laboratory Certification Programme, the GNBS monitors the operations of laboratories involved in testing, measurement and/or calibration activities to ensure that they are satisfying the criteria for certification and the requirements outlined in the National Standard.

Laboratories, which conform to the requirements of this standard, are provided with formal recognition to attest that they have implemented an effective laboratory management system, which aids their provision of accurate and reliable results to patients, medical practitioners, and other requiring medical results.

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

VIEUX-HABITANTS

Sur réquisition préfectorale, une unité de production d’eau potable tourne actuellement à plein régime sur l’une des berges de la rivière Beaugendre et ce jusqu’à mercredi prochain.

France-Antilles Guadeloupe

584 mots – 29.09.2022

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

Basseterre: St. Kitts, Tuesday, September 27, 2022:​ Education officials and key stakeholders across the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis will engage in a series of meeting with members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) on Thursday, September 29.

The purpose of the visit is to assist with the implementation of the OECS Program for Educational Advancement and Relevant Learning (PEARL) Project, so as facilitate the achievement of the OECS Education Sector Strategy (OESS). The visiting contingent will meet with Program Directors, Project Managers, and Senior Technical Specialists as they chart the way forward to a successful implementation of PEARL in the Federation. 

One component of the OECS Pearl project is the Special Education Needs Survey (SEN) which was launched in the Federation on Monday, September 26 and ends Monday, October 31

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

Tobago

Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Tashia Grace Burris.

THA Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Tashia Burris is unhappy with the $2.5 billion allocated to the Tobago House of Assembly for fiscal 2023.

Burris was a guest on the Tobago Updates morning show on Wednesday, after Minister of Finance Colm Imbert’s presentation on Monday.

“I was left feeling a little disappointed, certainly, but I would wait for the presentation by the Minister of Finance to see what he is looking at in terms of what the ministry plans to do over the next fiscal (year).”

She said as she sat in the public gallery listening in, she expected “some strategic, progressive, bold moves being made by the government to really move the conversation about diversification forward.”

She acknowledged that TT on thewhole is an oil and gas economy, adding that Tobago’s situation in particular has to be looked at uniquely and apart from TT’s situation.

“The reality is that tourism can become a major economic driver for both of our islands.”

As a result, she said, she had expected to hear “something radical, something bold, something progressive” from the Minister of Finance,”especially since we’re now coming out of this covid19 pandemic.”

She added: “When you look at our regional neighbours – Grenada, Barbados, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, Cayman Islands, all of these territories – when you examine their policies, when you examine what they’re doing, the things that they’re doing to try to rebuild their sector, to try to bring foreign investment into their respective countries, I just get the sense that we’re still not giving the kind of attention that we should to tourism.”

She said the THA “certainly…can’t wait for a central government to solve our problems for us, and we have no intentions of waiting on a central government to solve our problems for us.”

She said she is excited for the next fiscal year and some of the policies that would be put in place to ensure the island can move forward.

“I’m excited – in terms of building out some of our room stock, and there are several ways to do that – in terms of rolling out our community tourism initiatives, in terms of training, in terms of the sector and ensuring that our persons are ready to be part of this revitalisation of the service industry in Tobago.

“Incentives are always there, grants are always there, loan facilities are always there, so certainly the financial support from the THA would be there, in terms of ensuring that our businesses could now move from a place of just merely surviving to thriving.”

Asked about the increase in fares on both the airline and ferry from January 1, she said the timing was wrong.

“Timing to me is everything. I’m a marketing person, I studied marketing, and one of the things that you have to do in marketing is to ensure that the product that you’re trying to sell is one that people want.

“Regardless of the fact that CAL has this monopoly, the reality is that raising fares at this time – when people already cannot get flights, when people already have problems with efficiency, when people already have problems with your service – is not going to go down well. Certainly, there should have been consultations.”

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

– Advertisement –

Former Health Minister Mary Isaac has called for the delivery of a hospital in the South of Saint Lucia to the people of the country.

“I am here this morning to appeal to our people, to our government, to put the people first and deliver the hospital in the South to the people of Saint Lucia,” the former Minister told a news conference on Thursday.

Isaac said it was sad that after so many years since the fire that destroyed St. Jude Hospital, throughout different administrations a new medical facility had not replaced it.

“The nurses, the workers who were temporarily removed from the old St. Jude Hospital are still in that old facility where they were placed – the stadium, and we know the stadium is in a very deplorable condition,” the former Minister observed.

– Advertisement –

“When we came into office we had to remove all the shingles on top. We had to retrofit. We had to do a lot of renovation and maintenance of that old structure. Also, we have deprived the young people of this country of this sporting facility for the past thirteen years,” Isaac lamented.

In this regard, she asserted that the people of Saint Lucia want to know what will become of St. Jude Hospital.

“Are we going back to the old structure? Are we going to continue the new structure?”

“When we came into office we were told that the old structure was 80 percent complete. We came in and realised, after report upon report, that the old structure was not even suitable for purpose, let alone be eighty percent ready,” Isaac told Thursday’s news conference.

She recalled having visited the structure and disclosed that to go upstairs, she had to bend her head.

“You had to almost stoop to climb the steps to get to the next level in that building,” Isaac told reporters.

“We were told that the electricals, the wiring, and everything are all mixed up in the walls and everything would have to be redone. So clearly, if we are told that the old structure – by professionals mind you – that the old structure is not suitable for purpose and sometimes we bandy around nice phrases. If you build a hospital and it is not suitable for purpose, that means you cannot use that hospital, that structure as a hospital,” Isaac stated.

“So let us all rally to ensure that our government does the right thing and continue the new structure, complete the new structure so that  our people can have a good hospital in the South,” she said.

Headline photo: Mary Isaac (Stock image)

– Advertisement –

NewsAmericasNow.com