– of coming new measures governing licensing

By Tamara Tucker

PERSONS using the services of funeral homes here could see a marked improvement in the delivery of those services following a health and safety workshop primarily for funeral attendants on Wednesday.

The workshop was hosted by the Ministry of Public Health at the Herdmanston Lodge, and according to Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, it was intended to educate funeral attendants on their roles and responsibilities in ensuring health and safety in the execution of their duties.

He told the Guyana Chronicle that the hope is that the workshop would set the foundation for the raising of standards in the industry. “It’s a public health issue,” Dr Persaud said, adding:
“Dead people are not garbage; it’s not throwing away something that we don’t want. You deal with a valuable part of the whole life course, and the ministry, in its health vision 2020, clearly outlines that health will be addressed throughout the life course.”

Dr. Persaud, who’s also Chairman of the Central Board of Health, noted, too, that soon the Public Health Ministry will be conducting inspections of funeral homes before issuing them with their yearly licences.

“We want the funeral homes to be aware of all the things that need to be in place, so that when we go to inspect, everybody is to standard,” he said.

During the workshop, Dr. Zoila Fletcher who specialises in heath surveillance, spoke on the subject of infection control when working in the funerals homes, while Ms Gwen King of the Ministry of Social Protection dwelt on the topic of health and safety standards that all employees and employers in the mortician business should practise.