Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor McKenzie, cautioned that “the flu can also worsen chronic medical conditions such as heart or lung disease. Persons at highest risk of dangerous complications from the flu are infants and young children, adults 60 years and older, pregnant women, and persons with chronic medical conditions or weakened immune systems.”

The Ministry has made available the flu vaccine free of cost in the public health system to high-risk members of the population, including: Healthcare workers; children and elderly with chronic illnesses; pregnant women; individuals who are institutionalised or in statecare; and non-health frontline workers.

Private healthcare providers are encouraged to procure the influenza vaccine through private distributors in order to provide for the general population. The flu vaccination is recommended annually every flu season.

“At the same time, we want to remind members of the public to practice good hygiene, including washing hands with soap and water; and covering the mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing, which will help to prevent the transmission of the virus.” Dr. Bisasor McKenzie added. “Persons with the flu should get adequate rest, avoid close contact and avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.”

As necessary, members of the public may visit their doctor or health centre, some of which have extended opening hours.

Source: Ministry of Health & Wellness (MOHW)

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1. Taking antibiotics when they are not needed accelerates emergence of antibiotic resistance, one of the biggest threats to global health.

2. Antibiotic resistant infections can lead to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs and more deaths.

3. Overuse of antibiotics can cause bacteria to become resistant, meaning current treatments will no longer work.

4. Antibiotic resistant infections can affect anyone, of any age, in any country.

5. It is bacteria itself that becomes resistant to antibiotics- not the person or the animal.

6. When bacteria become resistant to antibiotics common infections will no longer be treatable.

Source: World Health Organization (WHO)

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Transmission
The disease is carried by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female mosquitoes.

Symptoms
Dengue fever occurs in one of two forms. The mild form produces:
• A fever of 40˚ C or higher
• Headache
• Muscle, bone, and joint pain
• Nausea
• Pain behind the eyes
• Rash
• Swollen glands
• Vomiting

Its more severe form, called Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, can also cause haemorrhaging, a sudden drop in blood pressure, and death.

Prevention
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has provided information to help Jamaicans combat the disease and limit the spread of Dengue Fever. Some tips are:
• Use a mosquito repellent containing DEET on skin and clothing
• Sleep under a mosquito net
• Get treatment promptly when symptoms appear to prevent progression of the disease
• Keep stored water covered
• Eliminate mosquito breeding sites (mainly still water and tall grass) around dwellings
• Close windows before nightfall
• Open windows during fogging

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The medical company is about to float its shares having recently been upgraded to a hospital by the Ministry of Health, and would be the first healthcare facility to take the plunge, assuming it follows through on the offer.

“We were an ambulatory service before,” said CEO Everton Spencer. “Now we have been approved by the MOH for the care of in patients and outpatients. That’s why we want to increase our bed count,” he told Gleaner Business.

The initial public offering is meant to raise funds for expansion. The company is in the process of recruiting a broker to arrange the float.

The decade-old medical facility wants to grow into service that caters to some patients in their own language, specifically English and Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean, Central America and Sought America, Spencer outlined.

Winchester Medical, he noted, is already marketing its medical services abroad, with patients visiting from Turks & Caicos Islands, South Korea, Japan and countries in Central and South America.

On Monday, Spencer said the medical company’s seven shareholders all medical doctors will make an initial public offer to the market by midyear 2018.

The company is chaired by surgeon and shareholder Dr Neville Graham, and the other six also work at the Kingston-based institute. They are part of Winchester Medical’s corps of 20 specialist doctors.

Winchester is close to selecting a broker for the listing, having already completed a business plan and explored governance issues, the CEO said.

The IPO will seek to raise $300 million needed to triple the number of hospital beds, and add equipment, and hire bilingual staff under a three-year development plan, he told Gleaner Business.

Spencer said the medical centre currently has assets valued near the amount sought from the market, including $40 million of new equipment installed in its three operating theatres.

Winchester Medical specialises in family medicine, but also offers specialist services in areas such as haematology/oncology, vascular surgery and obstetrics, among others; and provides air ambulance and ground ambulance services in partnership with EMed. The owners also want to add more specialists, including in the area of dentistry.

Spencer said overseas clientele is not a large money-spinner for the centre, right now.

“We can say that based on the number of our clients and the procedures required under medical tourism our revenues have not been significant,” he said. “The target for the next 12 months is to have an average of 10 patients from overseas per month or 120 patients for the year. We plan to achieve this based on the marketing strategies”.

The company is trying to leverage business through relationships with “Jampro, Unesco and other international partners”, while its marketing efforts overseas promotes the medical centre as a place for “quiet convalescence and rapid healing”.

Promotions are heavily targeted at Jamaican communities overseas through radio and television health programmes.

Spencer said Winchester is setting up a subsidiary marketing company, that will be responsible for linking with radio and TV programmes, arranging call-in programmes to Jamaica from major international cities in which Jamaicans live, and conducting weekly health watch programmes, he said.

Source: The Gleaner

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