A Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) is set to go into operation to handle various complaints that include sexual exploitation against seniors and people with disabilities under care, a key stakeholder spokesperson has indicated.
The mechanism will cover four major health facilities which the government is developing across the country under the US$175m ($350m) Health Services Resilience Programme, expected to be up and running by 2029.
The programme embodies the new Geriatric Hospital at Waterford; Roseville Halfway House in St Peter; an expansion at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital; and Odle’s Glenn Senior Village in St George.
Leisa Perch is managing director and founder of SAEDI Consulting (Barbados) Inc, who worked through the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to conduct the Environmental and Social Assessment Programme (ESAP) for the project.
She said: “The Grievance Redress Mechanism; there is something in place that we are proposing, and that will be up and running; and part of the website… is already starting to put that in place.
“A five-day acknowledgement of a grievance is submitted, and then a 30-day resolution. Confidential and anonymous pathway, particularly for sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment complaints; the need to have community liaison personnel at each site that help with that community engagement and conversation; and just making sure there are multiple pathways to submit complaints.”
Perch told another in a series of public consultations at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC) over the weekend tthat the process was critical to ensure individuals were not struggling to meet any requirement.
“This becomes really important, particularly again, as we are talking about a programme as well as multiple sites,” she said, outlining that this forms a critical aspect of the Environmental and Social Performance Standards (ESPS) under the programme.
Turning to the proposed Odle’s Glenn Senior Village, Perch said the social and environmental assessment identified what she termed the Directly Affected Persons (DAP), who will be closely monitored and prioritized during the development process.
“We also would have been considering,” she added, “a number of issues in terms of who, when and how. And so, the Directly Affected Persons which is a specific terminology within the ESA, these are the ones we have identified that we need to keep at the top of the priority list, but they are not the only ones, but there are the ones we definitely need to make sure we keep an eye on throughout the process.”
The DAP identified include elderly people, nearby residents and schools, people with disabilities requiring continuity of care, and caregivers and staff.
The Odle’s Senior Citizens Village will provide affordable shared housing for capable elderly people who cannot afford private care facilities.
The project offers a safe community environment on a three-acre semi-rural parcel of land near the Frederick Miller Polyclinic.
It seeks to build 15 to 17 single-story residences and communal spaces for elderly people. The initiative is facilitated by the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs and seeks to expand community-based elderly care services for those in need.
(EJ)
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