Falklands : Falklands Committee News:
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 02.11.2005 (Article Archived on 16.11.2005)
The Health and Medical Services Committee met at 1215 hrs in Gilbert House.
COMMITTEE NEWS:
A MEETING OF THE |Housing committee will take place at 1330 hrs on Wednesday, 02 November 2005 in the Liberation Room of the Secretariat.
HEALTH AND MEDICAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
A meeting of the Health and Medical Services Committee took place in Gilbert House at 1215 hrs on Tuesday, 01 November 2005. Present were Cllrs Cheek (Chair) and Birmingham, Jason Lewis, Candy Blackley, Mrs Nikki Osborne and Dr. Barry Elsby, who sat in for Dr. Diggle who is in the UK. The MPA SMO, Al Holsworth, also attended.
The first item of business was Cllr. John Birmingham’s report on confidentiality, which was moved for obvious reasons to the closed part of the meeting.
MATTERS ARISING:
During last month’s meeting Cllr. Cheek asked about warning the public should the ozone hole come over the Falklands. The situation didn’t need monitoring but did need warnings when UV levels due to depleted ozone became too high. Nikki Osborne had spoken to Dr. Diggle about it prior to his departure to the UK.
Jan Cheek was pleased to report that sausage rolls were in the cooler of a certain shop.
HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
The two full time dentists have arrived and have started to sort things out that were out of order due to there being a succession of locum dentists. Now they are working through on patients who couldn’t start or complete their treatment but it would be some time before a complete service is up and running. Routine Dental patients would be asked to hang on a little longer while things are sorted out. A school screening programme would be undertaken with the Junior School children being first. The school would be consulted and a letter sent to parents, with children needing treatment being seen to over three days to be set.
A new Social Worker has arrived as well as an Evening Security Officer. There are problems recruiting qualified nurses. The UK, Australia and New Zealand netted only one applicant. There are three staff nurses positions available. The Government Health Visitor will be starting fairly soon.
The Psychiatrist’s visit went well with a post visit due soon. Dr. Elsby commented that the Psychiatrist worked 12 hours a day and that we could lose locums if we worked them too hard. It was suggested that a holistic approach to locum contracts be applied so that people could get out and see the Islands. A GP’s cull would help keep the Psychiatrist working on necessary cases only.
Paul Rosen and Joe Levitt would be arriving on the Lan flight but the eye drops they require will not be available due to the shipment arriving at room temperature and not cooled, thus being of no use to them. The SMO from MPA would look into it and try to get the eye drops – cooled – to the Falklands.
GP appointments now can be kept in two days’ time and there were slots open for emergency dental treatment every day. Social Services were working with five categories: Children in Need, Child Protection, Financial Assistance, Adult Referrals and Old People. There have been 35 overseas referrals in the past 3 months and 3 complaints as well as three compliments since last month.
NCH Commissioned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office concerning the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child would be looking at a whole range of issues and reviewing Child Protection Arrangements.
The Board of Health would be meeting but it would meet after Dr. Diggle got back.
It was decided that the next meeting would be held on the 2nd Tuesday in December.
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