MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — The St James Municipal Corporation has announced that the Catherine Hall Health Centre in the parish will be temporarily relocated to the Montego Bay Sports Complex to accommodate infrastructural works at the clinic.

The corporation, which manages the stadium, said the decision was taken after a request was made by the St James Health Department.

Mayor of Montego Bay, and Chairman of the St James Municipal Corporation, Councillor Leeroy Williams said the corporation is pleased to provide relief to the health centre to ensure they are able to retain their full complement of health services.

“We have a longstanding relationship with the St James Public Health Department and therefore we did not hesitate when the request was made. It makes logistical sense to house the clinic at the stadium which is still in close proximity to the community of those it most serves,” Williams said.

The mayor also believes that the facility will provide more space to ensure adherence to COVID-19 protocols, particularly social distancing.

“The impact of COVID-19 on our communities is debilitating. Anything that we can do to assist the health department must be done as we continue working with the community in developing practical solutions,” Williams added.

The corporation said preliminary logistics planning has already commenced as staff members are now in the process of preparing sections of the grand stand where the clinic will be housed.

Acting Parish Manager of Public Health, Lennox Wallace welcomed the partnership and said in a few days his staff will visit the facility to finalise relocation plans.

“The Public Health Department is really grateful for the partnership with the St James Municipal Corporation, which over the past 27 years, has always sought to work closely with us to facilitate and maintain public health in the parish. Likewise, they did not hesitate to provide the necessary assistance and granting us space at the stadium,” Wallace said.

The corporation noted that full relocation is expected to be completed by the ending of December 2020 and is expected to last until March 2021.

During the period, the National Health Fund is slated to carry out an expansion rehabilitation project at the Catherine Hall Health Centre with the scope of work to include the addition of new medical offices and a new waiting area, complimented by the installation of generator plants, it added.