COMPLAINTS about the availability of medication, difficulty in getting appointments and recordkeeping were some of the issues raised at the third town hall meeting on Public Health Care Services and You.

Hosted by Parliament's Joint Select Committee on Social Services and Public Administration, it took place at the Centre Pointe Mall, Chaguanas on March 7.

One man said health facilities were underutilised, as they closed at 4 pm, but the community was bustling outside. He said many cases people had to go to Couva or Montrose. He said the building usage could be maximised, as people get sick at any time.

Devanand Shridath said dispensing medication was a problem, as the procedure for collecting prescriptions had changed so that patients now spent two-three hours waiting for medication. He said in most cases, the pharmacy didn’t have some of the medications and he had to travel to several different health centres to get them. This meant additional stress as well as transport costs, and he explained this was the norm for him and others.

Shridath said he had had surgery in December, went to clinic in January, and his next clinic appointment is in September 2025.

Councillor for Enterprise South/Longdenville North Brenda John said the waiting time at accident and emergency departments was too long, especially for the elderly. She asked why the Sangre Grande hospital was at a certain level in terms of healthcare and the borough was not.

She said the fight against non-communicable diseases should start in schools, including exercise and banning sweet drinks. Eating healthily was expensive, she said, and fast food was easy to access.

She also said pharmacists could tell patients which facilities had the needed medication if theirs didn’t have it, rather than having people waste time and money travelling around.

Another participant said certain pre-tests were only available to the public when the regional health authories hosted mass events, such as International Women’s Day, and only on certain days and during certain times. She said the costs of private tests was prohibitive.

She said she was admitted to the hospital twice in a week, the first time after being taken by ambulance from the health centre because of chest pains, when she was asked to stay overnight to see the specialist cardiologist, but didn’t have clothes or anything to eat or drink. The second time she was discharged with a prescription for several medications, told to join the cardiac clinic and given an appointment in June 2024, without a diagnosis being made or seeing the cardiologist. She also had to wait two hours to fill her prescription.

Concerned Parent Teachers Association president Clarence Mendoza said school canteens were not being examined for what they were providing to children.

“We cannot be using a document from 1984 to run our cafeterias. We’ve been asking for a meeting with the Education Minister since last October, and keep being told it will happen.

"Our children must be taught about non-communicable diseases i