ST JAMES, Jamaica – Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, has announced that the Ocho Rios Health Centre, in St Ann, will be upgraded at a cost of $200 million.

Speaking to health practitioners and other stakeholders at the St Ann facility, on Friday, Dr Tufton said that population growth and the many, sometimes unexpected, challenges that come with being a healthcare provider in a resort town make it necessary for the expansion.

He added that staff workers will, at long last, be given the tools and breathing space to do their jobs in a more effective way.

“Oftentimes, we in public health, and I put myself there too, since I’m the minister… but I speak on behalf of the 23,000 workers and their support team… through the respective management committees and Boards… are placed [in some very challenging situations],” the minister said.

“We are expected to respond to an emerging set of challenges without a commensurate support over the years in resources, in infrastructure, in equipment, and sometimes even in personnel,” he added.

The minister said his comments should be taken from a historical perspective and not “confined to one set of leadership or Administration,” noting that “this is about a period of time where public health has not been given the adequate resources,” while the demand on the system continues to grow.

He pointed out that this only became even more glaringly apparent when lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers and strokes have increased and without having the required infrastructural support as it relates to resources.

“While the population has expanded… chronic and life-threatening diseases have significantly increased… the infrastructure to support that has not nearly [been] enough, and this Ocho Rios Health Centre… right here in the heart of this tourism mecca where we host so many foreigners to our benefit, is a typical example of that,” Tufton further pointed out.

“When this health centre was built back in the 1960s, the population in these parts was approximately 20,000 to 25,000. Ocho Rios back then was a mere fishing village on the verge of development. With vision and leadership, this place has evolved over time into a tourism mecca. But guess what? The clinic that was built in 1960 has had only minor adjustments, a little room here and there… a little extra service here and there, some additional stuff… to accommodate a growing population of more than 60,000,” he noted.

The Minister said that while the rapid advancement in tourism was taking place, there was not a parallel strategy in place for healthcare, thus resulting in a burdening of the system and where health workers must go beyond the call of duty to keep up.

Tufton said that while he is prepared to absorb all the criticisms “that are levelled at me, [as] I’m always willing to learn and knowing I am in a democracy”, he believes that sometimes the verbal attacks on the workers are unfair, given what they have had to absorb over the years.

The minister added that there is now real hope for optimism, pointing to the plans for the upgrade of health centres and the building of some new health facilities across the island.

“There is indeed light on the horizon. The hope is that we’re trying to do better than how we’re doing it now, perhaps more than we have done it in the past. And again, I don’t take full credit for it, because the vision is a collective vision, which starts with an Administration that was elected to serve the people, led by the Prime Minister, The Most Honourable Andrew Holness,” he said.

“There is also a Cabinet, a parliamentary process… which involves a consultation… and where we discuss, assess, and analyse,” Tufton said.