Greater Portmore Health Centre among several to be expanded
KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Greater Portmore Health Centre, in St Catherine, is among several facilities slated for major upgrading and expansion.
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, who made the disclosure recently, said there is “an urgent need to add significant expansion” to the healthcare facility, given the large population in Portmore.
“The new building will provide the following services: oral rehydration, laboratory, isolation room, x-ray room, treatment and procedure rooms, asthma bay, diabetic retinopathy screening, and physiotherapy with examination and exercise rooms,” the Minister outlined.
Dr Tufton was speaking at a forum dubbed: ‘Open House and Exhibition for the Rehabilitation of Jamaica’s Public Health Facilities’, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, in New Kingston.
Construction, which is slated to start in December 2022, is expected to end in November 2023, and forms part of the $31.2 billion to build out the public health infrastructure over the next three years.
The Minister also noted that the St Jago Park Health Centre, in the parish, “is being prioritised for expansion to reduce the number of patients seen at the Spanish Town Hospital.”
“We will increase the services and operational time offered to clients who live in the Spanish Town area. Currently, the St Jago Health Centre is Type III, but it is recommended to be significantly expanded and upgraded to Type V, or under the new categorisation – Comprehensive,” Dr Tufton said.
“Services to be offered include dentistry, mental health, diabetic retinopathy screening and laboratory services. The scope of work also includes the remodelling and refurbishment of the existing health centre,” he added.
Also slated for expansion are the Old Harbour Health Centre, in St Catherine; St Ann’s Bay, Ocho Rios and Brown’s Town health centres, in St Ann; and May Pen East, May Pen West and Mocho health centres, in Clarendon.
The Minister said a key component of upgrading the health sector is the investment of US$8.5 million to create a modern and integrated healthcare system, where records are digitised, with high-speed Internet that results in cost and time reductions, and “providing efficient healthcare response services to our patients.”
