The Ministry of Health and Wellness is partnering with the Ministry of National Security on a range of interventions aimed at strengthening support for persons behind bars who suffer from mental illnesses. Health Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, made the disclosure at the launch of a research paper on incarcerated persons with mental illness, dubbed ‘Through the Cracks’, at...

Over 250 residents of St. James benefited from the Kiwanis Club of Montego Bay’s fifth annual Diabetes Awareness Health Fair on November 2. The event, which was held in Sam Sharpe Square, was jointly hosted with the National Health Fund (NHF). President of the Club, Teisha-Ann Pinnock, told JIS News that the organisation prides itself on serving the community, adding...

The Cornwall Regional Hospital in St. James has benefited from the donation of an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and supplies valued at more than $20 million, which will better enable the facility to diagnose and treat problems of the bile and pancreatic ducts. The equipment was provided by Jamaican-born philanthropists living in the United States, Dr. Gyanprakash Ketwaroo and Wellington...

The Government is continuing its inter-ministerial collaboration to contain the spread of dengue fever. Dengue fever is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, and symptoms of the disease typically begin three to 14 days after infection. These may include high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a skin rash. Symptoms usually last for two to seven days. Responding...

Ground was broken and the contract signed on Wednesday (November 6) for construction of the Dr. Kenneth Baugh Health Centre in the rural community of Point Hill in West Central St. Catherine. Approximately $28 million is being provided by the National Health Fund (NHF) for the project. The 1,453-square-foot single-storey building will include a registry for record-keeping, an immunisation area,...

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says the Government is looking to provide alternatives to incarceration for non-violent persons primarily with substance use and/or psychiatric disorders. He said the Ministry has made recommendations for the development of a range of interventions in this regard. He noted that an audit of the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre last...

Cabinet has approved contracts totalling $1.7 billion for the provision of security and related services at health facilities under the jurisdiction of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), for a period of three years. This was announced by Minister without Portfolio with responsibility for Education, Youth and Information, Hon. Karl Samuda, during today’s (November 6) post-Cabinet press briefing at...