WESTMORELAND, Jamaica – Effective Sunday December 8, the Drug Serv Pharmacy at the Sav-La-Mar Hospital in Westmoreland will begin operations from a new pharmacy on the hospital compound, the National Health Fund (NHF) has announced.  The NHF began construction in July of this year and completed the new pharmacy at a cost of $12 million, the Fund said in a release today.

CEO of the NHF, Everton Anderson explained that the upgrade became necessary to expand the capacity at the current location and to meet the growing demands for pharmacy service in Savana-la-mar.

“The pharmacy currently processes over 7600 prescriptions per month, 5,400 of which are out-patient submissions, while the remaining 2,200 relate to inpatient treatment. Following the upgrades, it is expected that service delivery will improve significantly to allow for greater efficiency and improved service to clients,” Anderson said. 

“While we expand the physical structure, we encourage patients to utilise the various alternative options to minimise waiting time in the pharmacies, the NHF chief added.

In the meantime, the NHF reminded that it provides several alternative services to access medication, including a drop-off and pick up service where patients can leave their prescriptions for processing and return for their medication at an agreed time. Scheduled refills also serve as a convenient option to patients who access recurrent treatments for their existing conditions. Additionally, a Quick Prescript option is available, whereby patients are able to submit their prescriptions though the Quick Prescript mobile application on their smartphones or at the kiosks on location.