FALMOUTH, Trelawny — Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has announced plans for infrastructural upgrades at Falmouth Health Centre, which he described as “bursting at the seams” due to increased demand.

According to the minister, the facility serves scores of patients daily and includes a pharmacy that processes 60 or more prescriptions each day. He added that the centre also has a dental unit and doctors who provide ongoing patient care.

During last Friday’s tour of the facility, which is located on the grounds of Falmouth Public General Hospital, Tufton acknowledged the overcrowded conditions and said steps are being taken to create additional space to better serve the growing patient population.

One of the key proposals under consideration is relocation of the administrative block to allow for expanded clinical services.

“This facility needs more space — everybody is just crammed together. It has outlived the demand. The demands have grown, and the spaces have not expanded with it. What I envision happening is we [are] going to have to find a way to create more space, which means a design that would see more build-out,” Tufton said.

“That is why I am saying one of the things we may have to look at is to relocate the administrative block to somewhere else. They have shown me a facility that could go up a floor, and then use the administrative block as more space for the clinical services, and then redesign that to create a bigger health centre, basically.

“My commitment today is that good things are going to come to Falmouth. Just stay the course and just work with us to do the design and to map out what the future will look like — both from the administrative standpoint, but also from the service provisions standpoint,” he added.

The health and wellness minister said the project could take up to six months to get underway as a comprehensive assessment involving architects and detailed planning would be required before it can be formalised and the cost becomes clear.

However he noted that basic enhancements — including comfortable seating, air conditioning in the waiting areas, bathroom renovations, and additional doctors’ cubicles — could be done under Operation Refresh. That initiative was established just over a year ago, with $1 billion earmarked to spruce up select health centres across the country while enabling more home visits from community health aides.

During last week’s visit Tufton announced that Falmouth Health Centre, along with facilities in Wakefield, Duncans, and Wait-A-Bit, will undergo upgrades under Operation Refresh. Health centres in Lowe River, Troy, and Bounty Hall have already been approved for improvements while the Jackson Town facility, which has already benefited from the programme, is slated to reopen soon.

He explained that the Government’s focus on upgrading primary health care facilities is hinged on the need to restore credibility and increase public trust in the health centre system.

He also again stressed that primary care is the foundation of the health system and should be the first point of contact for most medical needs, helping to ease the burden on hospitals. By enhancing health centres with more doctors, nurses, improved infrastructure, pharmacy services, and expanded offerings, the Government aims to encourage more Jamaicans to use these facilities.

“Over the last five years, we have seen 300,000 more visits to health centres, 250,000 less visits [than in previous years]. To the average man it may seem significant, but it is significant. Poor people are going into the health centres, and are going for services that they are getting, and [keep] going back. I want more to do that,” Tufton stated.

He said the push to utilise health centres is critical to improving health outcomes. Citing the country’s COVID-19 response as a clear example of the value of primary care, he noted that Jamaica’s relatively low vaccination rates still resulted in fewer deaths compared to some developed nations. He attributed this to the work of community health workers.