Child and Adolescent Hospital to be Built in Western Jamaica

The Government will be establishing a child and adolescent hospital in western Jamaica, the preparatory phase of which has already begun.
In her 2007/08 Budget Debate presentation in the House of Representatives last week, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller noted that this was a special project, as there was a need for “a modern, well-equipped hospital that meets the needs of children and adolescents who depend on the public health services.” In terms of the country’s health infrastructure, she informed that more than $1.8 billion has been spent on new construction and rehabilitation. “One of the significant projects accomplished is the modification and extension of the accident, emergency and radiology departments and operating theatre of the Falmouth Hospital, where we spent $311 million,” she told the House. A sum of nearly $205 million has been spent on the rehabilitation and renovation of a number of rural hospitals, including, Annotto Bay, Mandeville, Spanish Town, Cornwall Regional, and Black River; and the Port Maria Dental Health Centre.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister pointed out that $863 million has been spent on the provision of equipment and vehicles, including radiological equipment; equipment for operating theatres and accident and emergency departments; equipment for the laboratory of the Spanish Town hospital; and the purchase of ambulances for emergency medical services.