APPROXIMATELY 32,000 residents of Moneague and neighbouring communities in St Ann are now benefiting from improved health-care services at the newly refurbished community health centre.

The facility, upgraded at a cost of $26 million, was officially handed over by Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton during a ceremony on the weekend.

The project included construction of a new waiting area outfitted with restrooms; renovations to the health-centre building; modification and expansion of the health records department; repairs to the staff areas; and improvements to the pharmacy.

A covered walkway, which links the various service areas, was built to protect patients and staff from the elements.

Major modification was made to the entrance gate to allow for safer and easier access to the facility, and a new car park was also constructed.

In his address Dr Tufton said the upgrading project will enhance service delivery to residents and represents the Government’s commitment to the development of the country’s primary health-care system.

“It may seem simple to some people but it’s significant from where we’re coming from, and it represents progress for the people who will use it. That’s very important because part of our mandate as representatives…is to enhance the quality of life of the people who elected us to serve,” he pointed out.

Dr Tufton said that primary health-care facilities represent “a real definition of where good health starts”, and encouraged Jamaicans to make greater use of their local health centres to reduce the burden on hospitals.

“It [good health] starts from the womb. It starts from conception. It starts from the community. And in the middle of all of that is the health centre. We want to refocus the attention of Jamaicans at the community level by getting them to restore their confidence, restore their belief in that clinic or health centre within your community,” he noted.

Dr Tufton emphasised that the primary focus of health care should be on the prevention of illnesses.

“You ever hear the term prevention, as opposed to cure? I want you to reflect on that as it relates to your personal health because, oftentimes we try to solve problems when the problems already exist, and [we] don’t spend enough time preventing those problems in the first place,” reasoned Tufton.