Retirees want senior citizens council to help with COVID inspections
Published:Wednesday | October 28, 2020 | 6:05 PM
A group of Jamaican retirees wants the government to empower the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC) to assist with the inspection of the nursing homes and infirmaries.
Founder of the Caribbean Community of Retired Persons Jean Lowrie-Chin has made the call following the confirmation of COVID cases among staff and residents in at least two homes for the elderly in the past few week.
Yesterday, one resident from The Golden Age Home in Kingston and another from the St Elizabeth Infirmary succumbed.
The government has indicated that it is trying to recruit additional health inspectors to monitor residential institutions.
But in the meantime, Lowrie-Chin said volunteers of the senior citizens council could be trained to help.
"We know the NCSC has offices in all the parishes and are willing to assist, so why not equip them to assist in this area?” she questioned.
Lowrie-Chin said from as far back as June 2019, she raised the idea with the Health Ministry after an incident with an unregistered nursing home revealed that there were only two inspectors assessing these facilities across Jamaica.
Last week, the Minister of Health and Wellness reported that more than half of the nursing homes inspected since May were deemed as unsatisfactory in respect of the COVID-19 protocols .
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