Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, has underscored the need for persons to become very health conscious, and join in the  campaign against Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which is responsible for about 70 per cent of preventable deaths. He cites tobacco use, abuse of alcohol, improper diet and lack of exercise as the four pillars on which the prevalence of...

Employers, who restrict a person’s right to work, based on their HIV status, could face sanctions under the proposed Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Bill. “All offences under the Bill will attract sanctions that include imprisonment or fines. Any work site, which does not put in place a response to HIV, will be in breach of the OSH Bill,” said...

Health Minister, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, says the administration is spending some $500 million to improve hospitals islandwide for the 2013/14 fiscal year. This is being complemented by similar work earmarked for approximately 100 health centres across the country, at a cost of some $400 million. The projects are part of the Government’s 2013/14 strategic priorities, focusing on human capital...

Administrators and medical personnel at the leading health institution in Western Jamaica, the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), are always striving to put the institution on the cutting edge of 21st Century medicine, in the provision of health care. The latest initiative is the introduction of a Kidney Transplant project, which got off the ground on October 8. Through collaboration with...

Rehabilitation works on the Annotto Bay Hospital in St. Mary have been completed at a cost of more than $90 million. The project, spearheaded by the Ministry of Health, was undertaken to repair infrastructural damage sustained by the 146 year-old institution during Hurricane Sandy's passage in October 2012. Refurbishing work  was done  on the female medical, paediatric, and maternity wards;...

Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, has called for wider dialogue on the issue of mental health and the search for solutions. He said that society has opted to negate the existence of mental health issues, "only to have them confront us from time to time with devastating consequences." "The search for solutions must therefore also include a search...

Several cases of Intravenous (IV) Giving Sets, valued at just over $2 million, have been donated to the public health sector as part of efforts to improve the quality of health care delivery at various hospitals in the island. The items, contributed by Med-Rx Caribbean, comprise 50 cases (15,000 units) valued at $900,000 for  the University Hospital of the West...