KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson, says the Ministry welcomes all partnerships that will assist in improving health care delivery and provision of services locally.

“This is an indication that we are all taking responsibility for health care in this country and we see the value of partnerships and participation to move the health sector forward,” he commented.

 Dr Ferguson was speaking Thursday (March 14) at the handing over of 100 wheelchairs valued approximately $4 million to the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH). The items were donated by the Rotary Club of St Andrew, through assistance from the California-based Wheelchair Foundation, and the Giradin Family Trust in Florida.

Dr Ferguson said that the Rotary Club has, in the past, donated 100 wheelchairs to the North East Regional Health Authority, the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), and the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

He added that the Club played an important role in the establishment of the Cardiac Unit at the UHWI, and donated a dialysis machine to the KPH, as well as equipment valuing $5 million for newborns at the Bustamante Hospital.

Chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), Lyttleton Shirley that last year, 74,000 persons were seen in KPH’s Accident and Emergency department, while more than 205,000 persons visited the Outpatient department, and 28,000 were admitted.

“So, you can understand the need for additional wheelchairs…I am also very pleased that the club has donated replacement service parts, which will extend the years for the use of wheelchairs being donated today,” said Shirley.