Budget cuts could affect public health services in Hanover

Claudia Gardner, Assignment Coordinator

WESTERN BUREAU:

Chief Public health inspector for Hanover, Derrick Storer, says public health-related activities in the parish will be severely affected due to a revised travelling mileage cap for health workers by the Western Regional Health Authority.

Storer made the comments during his monthly report at the regular monthly meeting of the Hanover Parish Council recently.

"Because of the constraints of the Government, there has been a reduction in budgetary allocation for travelling in the entire region, and the Hanover Health Department has been included. As you know, there are public health inspectors, nurses, and other travelling officers who have to travel to carry out their work-related activities. There has been a drastic reduction in the allocation of mileage, and this will affect the output of the work that will be done by these officers," Storer told the meeting.

"One of the areas we receive revenue from - food-handling certification programme - will be affected drastically. There will be a reduction in the quality and quantity of, for example, premises inspection and inspection of complaints. The inspection of food-handling establishments, inspection of tourist establishments, certification of food-handling establishments, site visits for land development, investigation of applications to bury in family plots, and attendance at meetings and seminars," Storer added.

OTHER AREAS AFFECTED

Storer said as a result of the new changes, the department's hotel-surveillance programme has also been affected as it has had to reduce its usual weekly spot checks of hotels to two visits per month and has also had to reduce its vector-control activities.

He said the reduced travel will pose a severe problem for spirit-licensing sessions as well as for investigation of illegal public health-related activities, including illegal slaughtering and non-application for health certificates.

"These reductions will have grave implications on the activities of the health department, and we sincerely hope that something will be done to improve this situation," he said.