Mayor of St Ann’s Bay Michael Belnavis has applauded the Ministry of Health for its commitment to improve health-care quality for residents of the parish.

Last Friday, Minister of Health Christopher Tufton handed over a new administrative building constructed at a cost of $383 million to the St Ann Health Department and, according to the Belnavis, the minister will be back in the parish in the coming weeks to hand over new facilities in Ocho Rios and Brown’s Town.

“I love the way the Ministry of Health is treating the St Ann people,” said Belnavis during the latest monthly sitting of the St Ann Municipal Corporation.

He argued that with its growing population, St Ann needs developments in areas such as public health facilities.

“I understand that the new temporary health centre in Brown’s Town is too small [for the] ballooning population that we have in St Ann. There will also be a 40-bed renal dialysis centre for the people of St Ann because persons have to be leaving here and going to Kingston three times a week and it cost them a lot. So those 40 beds can adequately help the people of St Ann,” said Belnavis.

“Minister [Tufton] is here very often doing his various walk-throughs and meeting with necessary people,” added Belnavis.

In the meantime Public Health Inspector Nicola Barrett had a beaming smile and nodded in agreement as the mayor spoke of the work of the health ministry in the parish.

“The minister is here every week doing the work,” declared Barrett.

She told the meeting that the new administrative building will be used as the primary health-care hub in the parish.

It will also be used to facilitate food handlers clinics which were usually held at the St Ann’s Bay Baptist Church.

“The administrative building will help to further improve the administrative arm and improve the primary health-care services in the parish,” said Barrett.