MORE improvements are coming for health centres in St James as the parish’s health services continue work to improve facilities in the space.

At least seven health centres across the parish have already been rehabilitated or are in a position where they are close to seeing rehabilitation work completed.

Parish manager for the St James Health Services Lennox Wallace says that more improvement work for health centres is currently on the cards.

“We are currently in negotiations to buy the Ice Factory because we are planning to expand the Type Five health centre,” Wallace told the Jamaica Observer.

He said the population served by the facility has grown far larger than what the facility located at Payne Street in the city was initially designed for, and therefore this step had been taken.

“It has outgrown its use and negotiations are about 95 per cent. So we’ll move from the administration building at Type Five to over to Ice Factory and therefore we would extend the health centre,” he further added.

He also said there are plans to improve the Mount Salem Health Centre, which houses the Accident and Emergency department of the Cornwall Regional Hospital.

“When they move, that health centre will be upgraded from a Type Two to a Type Five health centre like the one in town and that will start this year. As soon as they move we’ll start the build out,” he disclosed.

Another facility to undergo renovations is the John’s Hall Health Centre, one that has not had much done since it was opened years ago.

“John’s Hall will start in November because from John’s Hall was built, nothing has been done to it. The population has outgrown that facility so we doing an expansion on that one. John’s Hall is currently a Type One and it will go to a Type Two,” Wallace said, adding that Maroon Town health centre and the health centre in Catadupa should see rehabilitation work completed in the next two weeks.

In the meantime, Wallace said the improvement works complement what has already been done in other health centres in Cambridge, Catherine Hall, Flanker, Barrett Town, Granville and Adelphi.

He poined out that the operation hours for the facility at Catherine Hall, which was renovated at a cost of $65 million, will be extended to 10:00 pm.

“We want to be able to assist the persons who work late hours like those employed in the BPO sector and those who work in the hotel sector,” he explained.

The St James Health Services parish manager said in addition, all upgraded facilities will have doctors throughout the week on a daily basis.

“People don’t have a plan to be sick so we have to ensure that doctors are there when persons are sick. All that have been upgraded so far, doctors will be there,” he said.