Indian High Commission to stage health fair in Hanover

WESTERN BUREAU:

Plans are well advanced for a school and community health fair to be staged at the Sandy Bay Primary School in Hanover this Sunday, thanks to an initiative by Indian High Commissioner to Jamaica Rungsung Masakui, who made a courtesy call on the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC) recently.

The gesture has received the blessing of the Hanover Health Department (HHD), which will be participating in the health fair and will see its health professionals offering their services free of charge at the event. High Commissioner Masakui is expected to be in attendance, along with a team of medical personnel.

“When he (the Indian high commissioner) visited us at the HMC, he told us about some scholarships, and also about a health fair that he normally stages in various parishes, and [that] he was planning on doing one for our parish as well,” said Deputy Mayor of Lucea, and Councillor for the Sandy Bay division in the HMC, Andria Dehaney-Grant. “So, on Sunday, July 23, we are going to be having our health fair at the Sandy Bay Primary School grounds.”

“We are going to be doing some free screenings, like cancer screenings, medical consultations, HIV and syphilis testing, blood pressure and sugar checks, nutrition consultations, and back-to-school medicals for students as well,” said Dehaney-Grant.

She encouraged parents who intend to take their children to the health fair to have their back-to-school medicals done, to take along their children’s health passports, immunization cards, as well as any other document which may be necessary to facilitate the process.

The deputy mayor urged residents to make full use of the event.

“We are looking forward to serving the entire parish, although the event will be in Sandy Bay in eastern Hanover. We want to serve the entire parish, so we are inviting all persons within the parish, from the school-age students, who want to do their medicals, to the elderly people, who want to do their various testing. We are going to be there on the grounds of the Sandy Bay Primary School from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.”

Dr Kaushal Singh, medical officer of health for Hanover, told The Gleaner that the health departments and health professionals are looking forward to participating in the event. “This will be an opportunity for the people from across the parish to come and get their school medicals done, get their checks done for chronic non-communicable diseases and cancer. They will also be able to get information about how to take care of their adolescents,” said Singh. Dental auxiliary nurses and the health promotion team will also offer their services.