JAMAICAN health workers have so far provided care to more than 400 persons who attended Cricket World Cup matches at the Trelawny Stadium and at Sabina Park in Kingston.

Health Minister Horace Dalley, speaking with the Observer after the launch of a mental health promotions programme at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston on Wednesday, said health teams assigned to both stadiums have ensured that persons in need received immediate medical attention.

Most of the persons receiving attention, he said, were treated for dehydration and diabetic-related illnesses.

“We are doing very well. I have a daily report from the health team and at the practice match in Trelawny they saw about 52 persons, most which were for dehydration,” Dalley said. At the Sabina Park match the other day they saw 174 persons for dehydration; persons who are diabetics who waited too long to eat, complained about the long lines, but that has been changed,” said the minister.

Additionally, Dalley said at the match on Monday at Sabina health workers attended to more than 200 people. About two patients had to be taken to hospital.

Initially, the International Cricket Council had banned persons from taking in food or drink into the stadiums, however, the rules were later relaxed to allow spectators to carry water in clear bottles.

More than 300 Jamaican medical personnel were trained to work during Cricket World Cup.

Dr Marion Bullock Ducasse, senior medical officer, told the Observer last month that medical and health volunteers were trained at the appropriate levels as set out by the Cricket World Cup directorate. Doctors and nurses, she added, were trained in basic life support and doctors trained in cardiac life support, advance trauma life support and paediatric advance life support.

One thousand people were also trained to handle mass casualty management and incident command systems.

Dalley also told the Observer that the National Blood Transfusion Centre, which earlier made a plea for blood for Cricket World Cup, had enough blood in stock to meet its demands of patients doing surgery and has not delayed surgery due to blood shortages.

“We have obligations and we have blood,” he said. “We are not short of blood for any surgery.”