ST JAMES, Jamaica — Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, is urging residents to return to their local health centres for chronic disease management, preventive screenings, and reliable access to medications.

He noted that the centres, particularly those impacted by Hurricane Melissa last October in the western region, are being reopened to relieve overburdened hospitals.

Speaking at a press briefing following a tour of the Black River Hospital and Health Centre in St Elizabeth on April 30, he said that in addition to decongesting the hospitals and extending essential services to underserved communities, the initiative will place primary care at the forefront of the nation’s health strategy.

The minister urged communities to embrace the reopened health centres, stressing that accessible primary care is foundational to long-term public health, economic resilience, and the well-being of Jamaica’s most vulnerable populations.

“I am encouraged by the work that is taking place in the parish. There are 23 health centres in the parish of St Elizabeth; 10 were badly damaged. My information from the team is that all, except this one here at Black River, have been reoccupied,” he said.

“This Black River Health Centre is now under construction, and within a month we expect it to be back in operation. They are using a temporary facility with containers now on the compound, and that seems to be going well. So, we do expect by the end of May, early June, for all 23 health centres to be back up,” Tufton said.

The minister said that he has been reliably informed that just about 80 per cent, or a little above that, of patients are back in at the primary facilities, noting that “ we are going to have to work harder… the community health aides and the primary healthcare team,” to get citizens of the parish to come back out to their health centres.

“We understand the trauma that they have been through, but we don’t want them to neglect their chronic illnesses, their screening opportunities, and their access to drugs. So, I want to use the opportunity to encourage that, and that’s a challenge that I’ve set for the parish team here.”

He continued “We have to go out into communities and spend some time encouraging the mothers, the children, the daughters and the grandparents to come back to their health centres,” the minister added.

Tufton said the outreach aims to reconnect patients with ongoing care, ensuring continuity of treatment and habit-forming routines that prevent avoidable hospitalisations.

The minister also stressed the importance of a data-driven approach, with metrics to monitor patient re-engagement, screening completion, and adherence to treatment plans.

The Black River Hospital and the health centre were devastated by the hurricane.  When restored, the hospital is projected to offer nearly 150 beds, a figure that underscores the region’s demand for expanded capacity.

—   JIS