MONTEGO BAY, St James — New residents to infirmaries across the island will benefit from added initiatives come next month when their doors are reopened to assist those in need, said Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmond McKenzie.

“We have made new initiatives in our infirmaries. We brought in dieticians, so it means that the residents of these infirmaries will have the benefit of proper meals. You can’t just throw the salt pork inna the pot and give them any longer,” McKenzie said last week during a ‘day of care’, for members of the St James homeless community.

“Dieticians are there to determine what they eat and you find that the residents [will] feel much comfortable because they are eating healthier meals. We have brought in physiotherapists into the infirmaries because once they are there, they lie down on the bed and they sit down, so you need somebody to work you out.”

Noting that no infirmary will be left out with this initiative, McKenzie stated that the Government intends to properly care for all those residents.

“Every infirmary across Jamaica has benefited from this programme. We are going to be building out a brand new kitchen to serve the residents and every parish in Jamaica will benefit from allocation where meals will be prepared at least twice a day,” he said.

Added McKenzie: “Just a few weeks ago we opened a transitional centre in Kingston, and we are committed that every parish in Jamaica will have a transitional centre for persons who will need the services.”

Although the 300-plus individuals waiting for admittance into infirmaries are being encouraged to utilise this service, they will have to meet stringent conditions before being allowed admission.

“Each person who will apply for consideration will have to be fully vaccinated, they will have to have a COVID test done prior to entering the facility. They will be placed in isolation for whatever period the isolation lasts for and after they have finished the isolation, they will take one more COVID test and once they have passed that, they will be admitted to the infirmary,” McKenzie explained.

“We are still going to be limiting visits to the facility because we are not yet out of COVID and we still have to protect those persons within our infirmaries who find themselves in the vulnerable category of Jamaicans,” he added.

Homeless people living on the streets will also benefit from this allocation, the minister pointed out, before encouraging these less fortunate residents to utilise their respective parish’s drop-in centres.

“We have the drop-in centres, so if you are out there and you don’t feel comfortable, we are going to encourage those of you who are living on the streets to use the facilities that we provided for you to sleep on a nightly basis. We provide medical support for you,” McKenzie said.

The minister continued: “All the support that is necessary, we are providing. Many of you are persons who have made contribution to Jamaica, some of you used to pay your taxes…but you fall on hard times and it is our responsibility to ensure that we provide for you.”

With Montego Bay being home to the second-largest homeless population across the island, McKenzie noted that work is being done to tackle this chronic issue.

“We just spent, two years ago, close to $50-million building new facilities at the infirmary, which we are going to provide further funds [for] furniture, so the next time I come back I will be opening the new wing of the St James infirmary. We don’t just talk about doing for the people, we have been providing substantial support for the persons living on the streets,” said the minister.

The parish’s poor and destitute will also be provided for through a partnership with the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Economic, Growth and Job Creation, McKenzie stated.

“We are going to be tackling the question of social housing in St James. We are targeting to build…some 15 social houses targeted for St James in this financial year,” he said.