Dr. Marion Bullock Ducasse, Director of Emergency, Disaster Management, and Special Services in the Ministry of Health. - file

Two hundredhealth and medical personnel have been selected from a pool of 400 volunteers to assist during the staging of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.

"We have selected persons based on their skills, training, and experience to put together the team for matches at both the Trelawny multi-purpose stadium and Sabina Park. They represent a cross section of the health sector - doctors, nurses, pharmacists and physiotherapists," Dr. Marion Bullock Ducasse, Director of Emergency, Disaster Management, and Special Services in the Ministry of Health told Jis News.

She assured that the selection of the team would not in any way affect the regular routine services provided at the nation's hospitals and health facilities.

Dr. Bullock Ducasse explained: "The hospitals will be able to cope, because not every volunteer is from within the government sector. We also have volunteers from the private sector, but we have established a system where some persons are deployed on a full-time basis and others are for three days and some for the entire six matches."

Life support training

All volunteers have received training in basic life support, while some of the doctors and nurses have also been trained in advanced cardiac support and advance trauma life support.

"We have some training courses that we are still undertaking, bearing in mind that training started from 18 months ago and we have been conducting training right across the island," she further stated.

The health and medical volunteers will offer 24-hour service for heads of state and government who will be in the island, as well as the other VIPs.

The team will be deployed at various locations and at each stadium there are a number of different medical stations and posts.

"For example, there is a main medical station that will act as the referral point for the other areas. There is a special medical station, a VIP medical station and medical posts throughout the facility to ensure that we have coverage where every person may be located," explained Dr. Bullock Ducasse.