The coordinators of a revised 2019 National Workplace Wellness Policy (NWWP) for Barbados are in the process of embarking on an island-wide sensitization programme designed to equip employers on the most effective ways of implementing the plan.This has been disclosed by Professor Dwayne Devonish, who jointly authored the policy with attorney at law, Maya L. Kellman.“The next step for the coordinators is to engage in a series of public awareness-building programmes. These are to assist employers and communities in understanding wellness and how to develop wellness programmes within their spaces,” Devonish who is Professor of Management and Organisational Behaviour at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus told Barbados TODAY.“The key thing here now is a bit of hand-holding of the employers and communities in terms of how they could actually prepare wellness programmes and actually execute them because I don’t think we are doing a good job when it comes to develo
A formal relationship between the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs should be established to ensure the effective delivery of health services to Barbados’ elderly population.That recommendation has been made by the lead consultant on the National Policy on Ageing for Barbados 2023-2028, Professor Dwayne Devonish who has recommended the establishment of “an inter-ministerial governance framework in the form of Integrated Elderly Care Committee or Task Force with a shared mandate for the enhanced delivery of both health care and community care services to older people in need”.Delivering the policy during a national consultation at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre recently, he said that body would work on capacity building and institutional strengthening initiatives at key institutions providing health care and medical services, with the goal of maintaining best practice standards for the healthcare system for older people.
Barbados does not have the necessary legislation to protect its elderly from abuse. As a result, plans are afoot to put the necessary regulatory framework in place to protect the rights of seniors. This was disclosed during the national consultation regarding the Draft Elder Care Policy on Ageing for Barbados 2023 to 2028, which took place at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Friday. Among the objectives of the draft …
An independent body should be set up to manage and distribute pensions to elderly people who are at risk of being cheated out of their money, particularly in the absence of trustworthy caregivers.That recommendation has been made in the draft National Policy on Ageing for Barbados 2022-2023 which suggested that agency would work closely with the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) to put stringent measures in place to ensure the finances of senior citizens are not abused or mismanaged.Lead consultant on the policy, Professor Dwayne Devonish, said the proposed body would also work with other relevant agencies, family members, community members, and vigilant caregivers to build and execute robust surveillance and reporting systems and protocols for monitoring, investigating, and addressing matters related to the misuse and abuse of pensions and other social security benefits of older people.
The recent spike in gun crime has triggered a call by a former government minister and attorney-at-law for the establishment of a national programme to help first-time offenders re-integrate back into society and away from a life of crime and violence.The suggestion from Queen’s Counsel Michael Lashley came on the heels of a call from Prime Minister Mia Mottley for a whole of country approach to tackle the issue of crime.So far this year, 12 of the 17 murders recorded involved the use of a gun. Attorney General Dale Marshall recently confirmed the spike in gun crime while assuring residents that gunmen will not be allowed to hijack communities and drive people “into their homes and away from their normal pursuit out of fear”.Speaking on a radio programme on Friday, Lashley, a former government minister in the last Democratic Labour Party Government (DLP) administration, said most men turning up before the law courts were under-educated, unemployed and engaged from early in the us