Men’s Wellness Day Commended for Successful Outreach Efforts by Ministry of Health and Wellness and Barbados Red Cross Society: Chief Medical Officer Dr Kenneth George lauds collaboration and wide-ranging services provided at event

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Kenneth George, has commended the coordinated efforts of the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Barbados Red Cross Society for the successful Men’s Wellness Day held on Saturday at the Red Cross’ Warrens facility.

The event attracted a significant number of men from across the island who sought access to the complimentary services offered, including screening for prostate cancer, blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and various other men’s health concerns.

Dr George highlighted the common trend of men exhibiting less help-seeking behaviour, often leading to delayed presentation in disease management, while stressing the importance of prioritising prevention and early detection strategies.

He further remarked on the positive turnout, noting that attendees were not only interested in specific tests like the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) but also sought general information on preventive measures and adopting a healthy lifestyle, “It is a good day because we are not talking about COVID and we’re talking about preventative lifestyles.”

Dr George said the Ministry of Health often seeks to collaborate with entities like the Red Cross, “because we know that their arms … are longer than the Ministry of Health and their message tends to be a bit more acceptable.”

Danielle Toppin, the Director General of the Barbados Red Cross Society, pointed to the organisation’s focus on fostering individual and community resilience, with health being a fundamental component.

“Barbados Red Cross is also an auxiliary organisation to the government. So, really our role is to support the drive of the government,” Toppin said.

The concept for the event originated from urologist Dr John Franklin, who has successfully implemented similar programmes in the Virgin Islands with the British Red Cross for more than two decades.

She added, “Because he’s a urologist, there is the focus on prostate health, but we wanted to expand it beyond prostate screening to look at men’s health as a whole, really to empower men because people think men don’t have an interest in health.”

Expressing delight at the event’s turnout, Toppin outlined plans for Red Cross volunteers to follow up with attendees to provide them with their screening results and ensure appropriate referrals to specialists for further evaluation if needed.