The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MoHSS) will be consulting members of the public on the new National Policy on the Care of Older Persons 2022-2026,and has organised a series of town hall meetings to begin on Monday November 29, 2021.
The Ministry recognises the importance of public consultation and is taking the opportunity to gather views, evidence and data from people, businesses, online platforms, academics, civil society and all interested parties, prior to the Policy’s finalisation and publication in the coming months. Interested parties are therefore invited to submit their views on the latest draft of the Policy during the period November 29 to December 2, 2021.
Director of the Social Services Department, Mrs. Teresena Fergus, said, “The National Policy on the Care of Older Persons represents an opportunity for all Montserratians at home and abroad to share your views on how you feel your Government should care for older people in our community. We in the Ministry of Health and Social Services therefore urge all citizens and interested persons to read the proposals contained in the policy and provide feedback.”
Mrs. Fergus noted the significance of capturing public input in the decision making process. “Our population is ageing, and in order to meet the challenges ahead we need to harness the power of the collective to come together to inform future decision making. In this way, all will have a personal stake in, and ownership of, the final policy – and the Government of Montserrat will have strengthened its legitimacy to implement change. So please make your voice heard,” expressed the Director.
The Town Hall sessions will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to meet face to face to review and discuss the Policy. The Town Halls will take place at the following locations during the consultation period (29 November to 2 December 2021):
| COMMUNITY | LOCATION | DATE | TIME |
| SALEM | Salem Methodist Hall | Monday, 29th November 2021 | 4:30pm -6:30pm |
| BRADES | Brades Arts & Education Centre | Tuesday, 30th November 2021 | 4:30pm -6:30pm |
| DAVY HILL | Davy Hill Wesleyan Holiness Church | Wednesday, 1st December 2021 | 4:30pm -6:30pm |
| LOOKOUT | Look Out Community Centre | Thursday, 2nd December, 2021 | 4:30pm -6:30pm |
The Ministry is encouraging members of the public and key stakeholders to review the latest draft of the National Policy on the Care of Older Persons 2022-2026 which is available on the Social Services page on the Government website.
Alternatively, the document can be accessed via the following direct link https://www.gov.ms/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/National-Policy-on-Care-of-Older-Persons-v10.docx
The public can access the public consultation documents, including the draft National Policy on the Care of Older Persons 2022-2026, on the Government of Montserrat’s website and the consultation portal.
Submissions may be made in the following ways:
- Visit the online consultation portal HERE and submit your feedback;
- Email your submission as an attachment (PDF or Word doc) to socserve@gov.ms with ‘National Policy on the Care of Older Persons Review Submission’ in the title; or
- Post (Submit hardcopy) your submission to ‘National Policy on the Care of Older Persons Review’, Department of Social Work, E. Karney Osborne Building, Little Bay, Montserrat.
Following the public consultation, the Ministry will carefully review all input and publish the stakeholders’ submissions and a summary of the main findings on the Government of Montserrat’s (www.gov.ms) website.
To learn more about the public consultation and how to become involved, contact the Ministry of Health & Social Services at (664) 491-3895 or by email at socserve@gov.ms.