With approximately 150,000 caregivers islandwide not on payroll, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, has proposed that a census be done, so that they can be better assisted by the Government.

During his address at the Training of Trainers for Home Visits of Older Adults for Geriatric Health Workshop, held inside the Confucius Institute, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, on Tuesday, Tufton committed to helping caregivers who are very often underpaid, but who give “yeoman service” to the ageing population.

“We really haven’t done a proper census, and it’s something I would like us to do. It would be good to have a database of these individuals, these volunteers, these people who may be working for a little bit of stipend or driven not by the money but by the passion, commitment and sense of community,” Tufton said.