Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Christmas Message - Senator Ann Peters, Minister for Health


Fellow Grenadians,

As we celebrate this Christmas season, we reflect on the birth of our lord Jesus Christ; and we must remember to give God thanks for his abundant blessings and love to us as a nation.

Christmas is a time of joy and happiness, giving and sharing; and the coming together of family and friends to celebrate the goodness of the season.

Let us not forget those in our midst, who are less fortunate and most vulnerable as well as those who are in pain or suffering around this time.

Fellow citizens, this year has been a challenging year for us as a Ministry but through it all, we were able to do our best with the resources available to improve the quality and delivery of health care services to our clients.  

The following are some of our achievements and progress of my Ministry:

Commencement of Apprenticeship program (85 young people enrolled and commenced on-the-job training as of December 1, 2011.

Over 22,000 children has benefitted from the “Smile Grenada” national school-based dental health project.

Commencement of Clinical Teaching Program at the General Hospital in collaboration with St. George’s University.

Began the construction of the Gouyave Health Centre. (Phase one)

Through our continued efforts and service delivery, Grenada was recognized as one of the three countries with the lowest maternal mortality rate in the world.

Major refurbishments were carried out on health care facilities in St. Mark, St. John, St. Patrick and St. George.

Appointments of the Medical & Dental Council and Allied Health Practitioners Council. 

Addressed the issue relating to the shortages of medical supplies.

Completion of the national consultation on the new Mental Health Bill.

Establishment of National HIV/AIDS Council Secretariat.

Continuous training and development of our human resources in areas of; Vector control, Needle-stick Prevention, HIV/AIDS, Mental Health, Cervical Cancer Screening and Detection, Proper Prescribing and Management of Medicines, Chronic Diseases Prevention, Control and Management, Radiology, Diseases Surveillance, Disaster Mitigation and Management; to name a few.

Fellow Grenadians, these achievements could not have been accomplished without the dedication and commitment of our staff at all levels, many of whom goes the extra mile for our patients and others we serve.

Ladies and Gentlemen, in closing I want to reiterate my commitment to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our public health care system.

My Ministry will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders to make 2012 an even better year, by improving our delivery of service and patient outcomes.

I wish you a merry Christmas, and a bright, prosperous, happy and healthy 2012.

I thank you and may God bless you.  

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