138 Health Centres Upgraded Over Past Five Years

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says the Government has upgraded 138 health centres across the island over the past five years as part of the drive to strengthen Jamaica’s primary healthcare system. 

He informed that the works were carried out at a cost of approximately $3.8 billion. 

“It’s important to note that we’re not just fixing hospitals, we’re focusing on primary health care also as part of our reform process,” he said, during a recent tour of the Falmouth Health Centre in Trelawny. 

Dr. Tufton said that the improvements to health centres have been supported under several initiatives including Operation Refresh, scheduled maintenance by the regional health authorities (RHA), and partnerships through the Health System Strengthening Programme, which is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Union (EU), and the Government of Jamaica. 

He noted that the investment in primary health care is already yielding results.  

“Over the last five years, we have seen 300,000 more visits to health centres and 250,000 fewer visits to hospitals. It means that more people are going into the health centres and are getting services that keep them out of hospitals and that is good,” the Minister reported.  

During the press briefing, Dr. Tufton announced that the Falmouth Health Centre will be expanded under Operation Refresh.  

The programme, which involves partnership with the National Health Fund (NHF) and the RHAs, focuses on improving the physical appearance and functionality of health centres across the country. 

It includes refurbishing waiting areas with air conditioning, upgrading bathrooms doctors’ offices and kitchenettes, and installation of solar panels, water catchment systems, and generators where needed. 

“These are basic things that really everybody should expect in their work environment, and also every Jamaican should expect as a patient,” Dr. Tufton said. 

As part of the continued improvements, the Minister said that additional doctors and nurses will be deployed to rural and underserved health centres. 

“We’re hiring another few hundred doctors in primary health and nurses too. We’re going to be putting more doctors in the health centres… reinforcing the importance of primary health care,” he informed.  

The Minister said the Government remains committed to enhancing health infrastructure and service delivery islandwide, with a view to building a healthier, more resilient population. 

“We have to restore credibility to primary health care. We have to get more people to use our health centres and keep them out of hospitals unless it is absolutely necessary,” Dr. Tufton stated.