Emergency services getting ‘cutting-edge tech’

An electronic emergency hotline is among significant technological upgrades coming for The Barbados Police Service, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and other emergency first-responders, Minister of Science and Technology Marsha Caddle has announced.

The implementation of an e-911 system is among plans for a comprehensive modernisation programme, Caddle revealed on Monday at the opening of the ministry’s Science and Technology Summer Camp at The St Michael School.

The e-911 system will incorporate technology into how police, fire and ambulance services respond to emergencies.

One of the major projects which has the financial backing of the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), she explained, was bringing the police service “into the 21st century when it comes to engaging with the community and solving crimes”.

Caddle said: “There are ways we are working with the [Police Service] to modernise how they work to free up a lot of their own capacity to make sure we are not using police capacity or resources to do things that technology can help us solve. We are investing considerable resources with the support of the IDB to modernise policing that will range from the use of tablets in the field and uploading the information directly, to how we equip police vehicles with the kinds of equipment that will allow us to gather information right there on the spot to deploy information to different places around the island, and make sure those within the service know what is happening and know how they need to respond.”

A Health Management Information System to integrate the QEH, polyclinics, and private care providers is also on the cards, said the minister for innovation.

“This will improve things, like how quickly people get test results”, she explained. “We can securely allow you to have access to your data and allow other healthcare providers toquickly respond.”

Caddle framed these technological advancements within the broader context of education and innovation.”

The purpose of this camp is to open our imagination to creation and problem-solving”, she said, “and that is indeed the basis for education transformation, to enhance the culture of curiosity.”

The minister also revealed plans to collaborate with the University of the West Indies to examine the information technology curriculum to create an Artificial Intelligence sector.

Highlighting the importance of education reform, Caddle declared: “It is not about just passing exams, like the Barbados Secondary Schools Entrance Examination, but it is about renewing the education system to teach children to create.”

The Science and Technology Camp, attended by approximately 120 students, runs until August 23 under the theme An Exciting Adventure with STEM. Caddle praised the parental involvement, saying she was “touched” by the number of parents who attended the camp’s opening to show their support. (BGIS/BT)