The Environmental Health Department of the Ministry of Health is intensifying and expanding its training programme.??
To this end, it is inviting persons to sign up for upcoming courses, including a new programme, Introduction to Swimming Pool Sanitation.
In the coming weeks, certificate courses in Introduction to Basic Food Safety, Introduction to Institutional Hygiene and Introduction to Vector Control are also slated to start.
In a recent interview, Chief Environmental Health Officer, Tyrone Applewhaite, pointed out that the Department had added the Swimming Pool Sanitation course to its roster of training programmes, to bring awareness to the minimum health standards that should be enforced by pool operators and maintenance personnel.??
The first Swimming Pool Sanitation course for the year will run from Tuesday, February 15, to Friday, February 18. The $350 fee will cover all training materials.?? An additional course will be staged from Tuesday, April 12, to Friday, April 15.
"This 18 hour training course has a Barbados Community College approved curriculum and is designed to enhance the skills and competencies of pool operators and maintenance personnel and will also seek to standardise and regulate the hygiene practices and procedures for pool operation," Mr. Applewhaite explained.??
The course will expose participants to Swimming Pool Regulations, Infectious Organisms found in the Swimming Pool Environment, Recirculation and Filtration Systems and the Management of Pool Water and Environment.
Meanwhile, the Basic Food Safety Training course is again being offered in collaboration with the BCC and the Pan American Health Organization. It will run from Tuesday, January 25, to Friday, January 28, and is designed to improve basic training in safe food handling practices and enhance food safety awareness.??
The health official further noted that the Introduction to Institutional Hygiene course is slated to run from Tuesday, February 8, to Friday, February 11. It is designed to "facilitate the enhancement and standardisation of the hygienic practices in institutions", he added.
Persons interested in increasing their knowledge of the consequences of disease vectors are invited to participate in the Introduction to Vector Control course, which will run from Monday, January 31, to Thursday, February 3.?? All programmes, with the exception of the Introduction to Swimming Pool Sanitation course, will cost $80.
The courses are being held at the Ministry of Health’s Training Room at Jemmotts Lane, St. Michael.?? Persons are, however, asked to register and pay for the first round of courses at the BCC, Eyrie, Howells Cross Road, St. Michael prior to the start of the respective courses.????lbayley@barbados.gov.bb