The Ministry of Health is moving to reposition the mental well-being of persons at the forefront of Jamaica’s health care system. This, by making services offered at public medical facilities across the Ministry’s four Regional Health Authorities more easily accessible to persons seeking treatment. Mental illness refers to disorders affecting a person’s mood, thinking, and behaviour.  Examples include: depression, anxiety...

A $2.3 billion state-of-the-art private hospital was officially opened in Rose Hall, St. James, on October 8. The first world facility - Hospiten Montego Bay -  is the only private Jamaican hospital with an Intensive Care Unit (ICU), outside the city of Kingston, and will be catering to the medical needs of both local and overseas patients. "We are here to stay,...

Medical Officer of Health at the St. James Public Health Services, Dr. Marcia Graham, has lauded the Montego Bay/Atlanta Sister Cities Vin Martin Memorial Health Mission, which is delivering quality health care to thousands of citizens across western Jamaica. Highlighting a noticeable expansion of the annual health fair, in which five rural communities have been added to the outreach of...

A call has been made for Jamaicans, particularly those sufferings from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), to take care of their oral health. Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, said that poor oral health presents an added danger for persons, who suffer from conditions such as cardiovascular (heart) disease, cancers, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes. NCDs are responsible for over 70...

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, says there is no case of the Zika virus (ZIKV) in Jamaica. “Based on advice from my technical team, this is not so. Outside of Brazil, there have been no cases confirmed in any country in the Latin American and Caribbean region, including Jamaica,” he said. The Health Minister was addressing a press...

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Marion Bullock DuCasse says the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) has reported that the sample which was sent by the Ministry and received by them on Monday (September 28, 2015) tested negative for chikungunya, dengue and zika viruses. She says however that the Ministry will continue to intensify its Integrated Vector Management Programme given that this...

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, says public health officials are busy sanitising schools affected by the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, and where necessary they will decide on the closure of the institutions. In an interview with JIS News, Dr. Ferguson informed that as of September 30, some 58 schools and 123 students were confirmed to have been...