For the first time the Cayman Islands has an electronic database that tracks the quantity of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other key supplies available nationally, in addition to those being procured by the Cayman Islands Government and key private medical facilities.

Organisations participating in the national register include Health Services Authority, CTMH Doctors Hospital, Health City, and the National Emergency Operations Centre/Cayman Islands Government.

Developed as part of measures to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic, the register was compiled and is being updated by Deputy Auditor General Patrick Smith, the Chair of the Relief Aid Management Emergency Support Team (EST) of the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC). A large portion of the data was also provided by the Chief Financial Officer of the Health Services Authority.

Relief Aid Management is a sub-group of the Support Services Cluster within the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC).  The wider Support Services group assisted the process by reaching out to the majority of medical facilities to request data on existing and on-order PPE as well as relevant supplies needed for the COVID-19 response.

All data was centrally compiled and formatted into a dashboard for ease of reference.

The register, which was compiled over a period of few days, is dynamic register and is updated daily.

It is currently being used to provide policy/decision makers with real time information on the quantities of PPE, and other key items on hand, in transit or accessible from affiliated medical facilities.

HSA CEO Lizzette Yearwood says the register is proving a strategic tool for inventory and procurement management for the COVID-19 response.

“The Cayman Islands Government is continuously working to procure all the necessary items needed to effectively response to COVID-19. This living document allows us to make sound decisions by ensuring that any given time we have a clear picture of what is accessible within the country and what will be accessible soon.”

Minister of Health, Hon. Dwayne Seymour, thanked the NEOC, HSA and all who contributed to the establishment of the national register for the contributions to the strategic response to COVID-19.