Our CCRP members have complained about the lack of parks where they can safely exercise, so we are calling on the Ministry of Labour and Social Services to collaborate with the Ministry of Local Government to establish areas similar to Emancipation Park and Harmony Beach Park in every parish.
We are happy that a petition we circulated for the reopening of the Rockfort Mineral Bath, signed by over 2,500 people, helped to push the envelope for the good news we received this week. We are incredibly grateful to the Caribbean Cement Company for keeping communication open and for the generous features that they are adding to the costly renovation.
As we reflected on the dangers to elders living alone — fire and natural disasters — we are calling for a division of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management to serve the elderly in collaboration with NCSC, the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and the Jamaica Fire Brigade.
The Senate committee also heard excellent presentations from Sandra Latibeaudiere, lecturer and the section head/unit coordinator for the Social Work Programme at The University of the West Indies, Mona, and Dr Brian Kazaara, president of the Jamaica Association of Psychiatrists. Latibeaudiere noted that there is a 6 per cent prevalence of dementia in Jamaica, and with our growing elderly population, called for a National Dementia Plan. She mentioned depression as a worrying factor and recommended cognitive testing. She said the existing community health teams should be equipped with specialists to address these issues.
Dr Kazaara noted the importance of ethics, respect, patient autonomy, and advocacy. He said elderly patients should be allowed to speak for themselves and emphasised that dementia is not an inevitable condition for the elderly. He underlined the importance of cognitive testing and bemoaned the inequity of the delivery of services in rural areas.
In our CCRP outreach activities we see how woefully underserved our needy elderly are, many of whom live in volatile areas. We are grateful to DSP Natalie Palmer-Mair, Sergeant Jerr Johnson-Heron, and other kind officers for assisting in distributing our care packages to destitute elders.
This proposed legislation is everybody’s business. It will not only protect the elderly of the present, but also Jamaicans of all ages — the elderly of the future.
Jamaica Highlights 