MONTEGO BAY, St James — Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has promised that the 30-year-old Montego Bay Comprehensive Health Centre in St James is to undergo major upgrading work.

In making the announcement Tufton did not provide a cost or timeline for the upgrading work but he argued that the Type 5 health facility has outgrown its optimal usage and declared that he will be leading the construction process.

“It’s time for an upgrade, it’s time for an overhaul. And I am accepting part of the burden to lead that process and I want to lead it with my colleagues Heroy [Clarke, Member of Parliament for St James Central] and with Debo [Dwight Crawford, councillor for the Spring Garden Division] and others. Which means that we’re leading it from now for the next five years or more, right? So, we expect to be around during that period,” quipped Tufton.

He noted that the health centre was built in 1993 and the population it served was very different then.

“The sickness profile was very different then. We have seen a ballooning of our population. People move into St James, Montego Bay, for all sorts of reasons: expansion in tourism, expansion in BPO [business processing outsourcing], and maybe in Petrojam [Limited], I don’t know,” the minister added.

Tufton, who was addressing an adoption ceremony for the St James-based clinic at the Montego Bay Comprehensive Health Centre last Friday, argued that under adverse changes the staff have been doing the best they can to provide services to patients.

“Sometimes it is difficult because it’s just not practical to wait in spaces like this, it is really not what you want as ideal — and we must accept and recognise that,” stated Tufton who gave a partial outline of the planned upgrading work.

“So, we’re moving ahead with some plans. I’m not going to give you details on the plans but it involves a design concept, it involves more space. It involves more space for the services — perhaps some additional services — as well as space for things like parking and so on.

“During the course of this year I am hoping, based on the discussions that are taking place, to be able to be more definitive around what it involves and the timelines. But, suffice to say, the attention is on Type 5, to make it the right size for the demands of the population,” Tufton said.

He added: “We can’t be building the largest concentration of hospital beds up at Cornwall [Regional Hospital] and, despite all the criticism, when it is done it is going to be second to none and then we have Type Five down here look like them not even trying. You get the point,” stated Tufton, adding “we’re overhauling both primary and secondary, and it is going to happen.”

The health minister expressed his appreciation to Petrojam for adopting the Montego Bay Comprehensive Health Centre, as he pointed out that this was the 42nd adoption by a private sector entity under the Adopt-A-Clinic Programme.

In the meantime, general manager of Petrojam Winston Watson announced that under the agreement to adopt the Montego Bay Comprehensive Health Centre, Petrojam will be donating $1 million per year over the next three years to improve the infrastructure and equipment needs of the clinic.

Petrojam also donated a Schiller AT2 Plus ECG machine to the facility. The machine will be used to quickly detect heart problems and monitor heart health.

In welcoming the commitment from Petrojam the health minister pointed out that a further $200 million has been committed by entities planning to adopt other health facilities.

The Adopt-A-Clinic Programme allows for private sector entities, individuals, entities in the Diaspora, and others to play a more critical role in improving the primary health-care system by adopting a health centre (clinic).

A clinic in northern Clarendon is next on the list to be adopted.