CBH to return within months

The Minister of Health has announced that the defunct Central Board of Health (CBH) whose functions had been absorbed by the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) in 2015, will be resurrected as an inspection body.
Mowlyn Joseph had said the he expects the refocussed body to be fully functional by the end of March.
He said the main expectation for CBH is that it would function as a “first class inspectorate” for the country.
The minister explained that, ideally, businesses such as hotels, restaurants and supermarkets as well as government institutions — such as the hospital and clinics — should be subjected to routine inspections.
“We need to have an independent agency like CBH to go into hospitals, clinics, nursing homes … and identify where there are risks to the public or patients,” he added.
He said in particular, while the hospital should have its own quality “control mechanisms”, there is still need for checks by an external body to “request interventions based on the standards that exist”.
Joseph said the body will also be responsible for the training of food handlers.
Before they were amalgamated in 2015, both CBH and NSWMA functioned as waste collection entities, but the minister said the relationship between both bodies promoted wastage of the country’s resources.
While the composition of the CBH board is not yet known, the government recently announced that Leroy Adams would head the body.
The minister of health said Adams brings years of experience to the assigned post.
“Leroy Adams worked for the Transport Board before … even though they were inspecting vehicles there, and CBH will be inspecting the conditions of a restaurant or supermarket; the whole step by step process of inspection, he is familiar with,” Joseph said.
Adams has previously served as Port Manager, chairman of the Transport Board and the Board of the Medical Benefits Scheme.