DARVILLE SAY CONSTRUC TION TO SOON START ON NINE CLIMATE-FRIENDLY CLINICS

PLP Chairman and Fox Hill MP Fred Mitchell noted Mr Smith was still an active councillor of the PLP.

“The instant remembrances are those of myself and Sean McWeeney, KC, in our twenties going around The Bahamas and especially in Exuma, Long

Island and San Salvador with the Smith brothers campaigning and in the process learning The Bahamas and what it means to be Bahamian,” he said.

“The experiences were for me life changing and the relationships formed, ideas hatched are eternal.”

Rci Unveils Consultation Over Beach Resort Plan

from page one according to its first report. Vaughn Robert, senior vice president at Atlantis, was among those who submitted questions, including about the company’s proposed desalination and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP).

HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville announced the government will be building nine climate-friendly clinics which will also be able to be used as hurricane shelters. He also noted that “We are very close as it relates to our e-clinical records, our ability to integrate the islands and ground emergency medical transport systems and how we integrate it and tie it into air transport to move cases to the capital for tertiary care.”

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

CONSTRUCTION will soon begin on nine new “climate-friendly” clinics that will serve as hurricane shelters, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said.

It is not clear where the facilities will be built.

Dr Darville announced the plan while speaking on climate change’s impact on healthcare during a meeting with Dr Barbosa da Silva, Jr, the new Pan American Health Organisation director.

The meeting was one of several Dr Darville attended after leading a delegation to Geneva, Switzerland, for the 76th World Health Assembly last week.

In speaking with Dr Barbosa, the health minister underscored the need for climate-resilient facilities for small island developing states.

He said: “I’m about to construct nine new clinics that are climate-friendly throughout the area and hopefully will act as hurricane shelters in preparation for gale force winds during the hurricane and the passage of the hurricane.

“And so, for us the delivery of primary healthcare is constantly interrupted by these devastating cyclones that are usually Cat 4 or Cat 5 with winds that are more than 200 miles per hour and compounded with surge.

“The last hurricane we had, we had twenty feet surge.

“This is the reason why we speak specifically about small island developing states and the impact of climate change.

So, for The Bahamas, climate change is the number one issue that affects the delivery of healthcare services.”

Dr Darville also spoke about his ministry’s digitisation efforts, saying: “We are very close as it relates to our e-clinical records, our ability to integrate the islands and ground emergency medical transport systems and how we integrate it and tie it into air transport to move cases to the capital for tertiary care.

On recruitment, Dr Darville noted the country’s close ties to Cuba.

“If I go to Cuba to recruit,” he said, “I go to Cuba to recruit simply because they have a surplus of healthcare professionals that they are willing to send outside of their country and we bring those individuals in and we pay for their services.

“We are not asking for it free, we pay for those services, but it is a very difficult situation where you are seen as if you are doing something that is wrong, and this is a bare mechanism for survival.”

The WHO assembly ends today. The prevalence of noncommunicable diseases, antimicrobial resistance and universal health coverage were expected to dominate this year’s agenda.

Dr Phillip Swann, the registrar in the Chief Medical Officer’s office, highlighted the need to improve mechanics for better data collection from health systems and on health outcomes in The Bahamas.

He told the assembly last week that a systemic review showed The Bahamas was “in jeopardy of not meeting” its targets.

RCI responded: “In 2019, during initial planning, Royal Caribbean explored linking to the existing sewage line on Paradise Island, but the recommendation from multiple consultants – and consistent with best practices in The Bahamas – is to process all (100%) wastewater through an onsite WWTP.

“The proposed WWTP will consist of (a) transfer station, (b) above grade Membrane Bioreactor treatment system, (c) disinfection of effluent, (d) an effluent storage tank, and (e) polishing equipment to treat the effluent further for irrigation purposes. The WWTP will be designed to accommodate inflow and collection and provide treatment at levels in excess of the design load condition.”

RCI said wastewater will receive primary, secondary and tertiary treatment and “treated water will be used for irrigation and other beneficial reuse best practices will be employed”.

Mr Roberts also asked for alternatives that would create less impact by reducing the project’s footprint or by doing less land development.

In response, RCI said:

“With development, there is always an alternative of

‘no action’ which leaves the proposed site untouched. Given the significant amount of previously impacted acreage, the state of disrepair of nearly all of the buildings on the site and their potential risk to adjacent properties as a result of high winds due to tropical events, the eroding state of the existing infrastructure on the island, and the hazard created by the current property (rebar on the beach, holes on the property, etc.) to individuals trespassing the property from adjacent properties/ business, if the site is not transformed it will continue to fall into disrepair.

“In addition, repairing most of the existing infrastructure is no longer possible. Clearing and demolition of the current site for the construction of the new Beach Club will help mitigate these concerns, not to mention the economic benefit created based on the unique structure of the Royal Beach Club.”

Mr Roberts also asked how RCI would protect its development from harmful discharges, claiming the company has a “history of discharging oil, toxic waste and falsifying records”.

RCI said in response: “No one’s history is perfect, but over 30 years ago we took a stance and began our Save the Waves programme. Since then, Royal Caribbean has a formidable environmental record for consistently going above and beyond the environmental regulations put in place by various authorities around the world.”