THE GUYANA Water Incorporated (GWI), partnering with the Ministry of Public Health in an immunisation exercise recently had 50 GWI employees vaccinated against infectious diseases.

GWI Health and Safety Officer, Christopher Cathro, said that “following an initiative from our Chief Executive, we have enhanced our health and safety programme to include the immunisation of all employees who may be exposed to communicable diseases and microbiological bacteria in the course of their duties. In particular, we have focused on our Sanitation Department and operations field staff to ensure that these employees are sufficiently protected against potential infections.”

According to a GWI press release, the programme will be implemented over the next five months and will provide all GWI employees across the country with the opportunity to receive the complete course of vaccinations.

Through a partnership with the Public Health Ministry, the initial 50 employees were immunised against Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Yellow Fever, Diphtheria/Tetanus and Hepatitis B. The exercise was conducted last week at the company’s corporate complex in Georgetown.
SANITATION EMPLOYEES
“Because of the nature of the job, many of our sanitation employees may come into contact with these potential infections,” stated Cathro.

The Health and Safety Officer further stated that vaccinations for ‘chickenpox’ are also being made available for those employees who require them. Prior to administering the vaccinations, representatives from the Ministry of Public Health provided information for every employee on all the facts regarding the vaccinations being provided.

The immunisation programme will see a further 156 employees receiving the vaccinations during the last week of January. A schedule is being prepared for the immunisation of employees in Berbice, Linden, Essequibo, etc.

REHABILITATION OF FACILITIES

In addition, GWI is in the process of upgrading the facilities available for employees of the Sanitation Department. “We are currently working on the design and plan for the rehabilitation of the facilities utilised by our sanitation teams for sanitisation,” stated the Health and Safety Officer.

The plan will see the installation of new shower rooms, sinks, and other amenities to ensure that GWI employees are thoroughly sanitised after performing their duties. There will also be the introduction of individual employee anti-microbial soaps, hand sanitisers and a laundry service for the cleaning of overalls to eliminate the risk of employees exposing their families to the contaminants. The new initiatives form part of Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Richard Van- West Charles’s programme to significantly enhance the level of health and safety offered to all GWI employees, the release added.