Ryle Rock, Senior Environmental Health Officer at the Eunice Gibson Polyclinic.
In an effort to help solve the rodent problems that some schools may have, groundsmen and workers from various schools will be trained in vector control.
This was stated by Senior Environmental Health Officer at the Eunice Gibson Polyclinic, Ryle Rock, during an interview with The Barbados Advocate yesterday afternoon.
“I know for a fact that in my Eunice Gibson catchment, we are looking at training some of the groundsmen and other general workers in the various schools, which we hope to do that in this upcoming Easter vacation,” he said.
“We have discussed that as managers, and we will be training those personnel in vector control.
“This vector control programme is an 18-hour certified programme by the Barbados Community College and is being taught by some of our environmental health officers, so the general workers would not only know about vector control – they would also be certified as a result.”
Maurice Gaskin, Principal Environmental Health Officer at the St. Philip Polyclinic added that this was important as they have realised that rodents in the schools is an issue.
“There are 89 public and private primary schools spread across Barbados and on average in one month the seven polyclinics along the Vector Control Unit receive 15 complaints on rodents in the schools; so we as environmental health professionals have to visit the school and find out what the problem is,” he said.
“Most of the time we find that the children, in terms of eating their school meals and so on; the improper disposal of the foods leaves remains, things like the chicken skin, apple skins, banana skins, and chicken bones are an issue. Seeing that these schools are built so that there is proper ventilation, there is easy access for the rodents to go into the classrooms.”
As a result, he noted that they planned to go into the schools, speak with the students and teachers and train the groundsmen, in an effort to maintain a proper and healthy school environment.
Gaskin also encouraged parents, and persons in the community, not to dump their garbage illegally, and make sure that they clean the bushes around them.
He highlighted that it would be smart to make sure that the grass around you is no taller than three inches as the tall grass and bush only encourages the rodents to burrow and dig holes in the ground.