Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Rural Juliet Holness has appealed to the health ministry to improve aspects of the Mavis Bank Health Centre in her constituency. However, Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has indicated that some of the measures being requested are not feasible.

“I have written to the Ministry of Health before. We do need to have health professionals here on a more regular basis, and a consistent basis. Minister, we have a beautiful clinic. Our clinic at Mavis Bank is probably one that could rival the one in Gordon Town. For us to have to leave our health centre and go to Gordon Town is very challenging because it is expensive to travel there,” Holness bemoaned.

She was speaking, Sunday, during a health and dental fair that she organised ahead of the new school term. The health fair was executed through a partnership with Chandolu Global Health Care and the Navodayans Global Group.

The MP rattled off a long list of services the health centre offers but spoke of other crucial services that should be offered on a regular basis. She said she intends to keep advocating for the upgrades which include having residents help refurbish two run-down structures at the back of the building so they could then provide lodgings for medical staff who would otherwise have to travel long distances.

“Don’t leave it just to the MP, don’t leave it just to the ministry. I want you to start to organise and pitch in so that we can get far more support in getting our pharmacy up and getting the medical professionals here to serve us,” Holness told her constituents.

But on Tuesday the health minister, who stressed that he did not have all the information on the health centre in Mavis Bank, explained why some of the MP’s asks may not be possible. According to Tufton, the extension of opening hours is determined by issues such as availability of staff and community size.

As it relates to the buildings being refurbished to house medical staff, the health minister said some medical staff simply do not want to stay on site.

“There was a time when health workers used to be comfortable living on the compound of a facility, and it’s something that was desirable because it means they’d be available 24 hours. If somebody fell down and needed attention in the night, they could wake up the nurse, and so on. The truth is, that arrangement has dissipated over time because the health personnel are not willing to live on the compound, and they have various reasons for that. They have families, and families may require particular schooling, entertainment,” said Tufton.