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Measures to control and prevent the spread of Cholera were highlighted at a community meeting hosted jointly by the Portland Health Department and the Port Antonio regional office of the Jamaica Information Service (JIS), Windsor Castle, Portland on Monday, February 28. The meeting was held as part of a public education drive to sensitise communities to the dangers of the...

CARICOM representatives attending September’s United Nations (UN) high level meeting on prevention and control of non-communicable diseases are expected to advocate for specific focus on policies to address health risk factors. These factors include tobacco, alcohol, diet and lack of physical activity. Other areas are the re-engineering of health systems and services, strengthening systems for access to low cost pharmaceuticals...

Director of Health Promotion and Protection in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Eva Lewis Fuller, says there have been 194 suspected cases of ackee poisoning in Jamaica. Speaking at a press briefing at the Ministry of Health, downtown Kingston, on Tuesday, February 22, Dr. Lewis Fuller stated that all parishes have been affected by the outbreak. However those in the...

The Ministry of Health is currently exploring the use of the drug, Herberport-P, which is manufactured in Cuba, as a new option for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers that would reduce the number of amputations in patients. During a press briefing, held yesterday at the Ministry of Health, downtown Kingston, Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, informed that the...

Mayor of Port Antonio, Councillor Floyd Patterson, has called on the relevant authorities to look into the re-establishment of the Buff Bay Hospital in Portland. He said the restoration of a full-scale hospital facility in that town would greatly enhance the ability to save lives in the event of a major disaster. Mayor Patterson was addressing a debriefing session following...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, on Friday February 18 officially opened the upgraded Frankfield Health Centre in Clarendon, which will serve residents in some 78 communities. The facility, which now has additional staff, was completed at a cost of $7.5 million under the National Health Fund’s (NHF) Health Centre Rehabilitation Programme. The scope of work included expansion of the...

As part of the Health Ministry's emphasis on primary health care, seven point five million dollars has been spent to rehabilitate the Frankfield Health Centre in Clarendon. The Health Centre was officially reopened this morning by Health Minister, Hon. Rudyard Spencer.  Minister Spencer says the government remains committed to providing universal access to health care "which we are striving for...

Scores of residents of Free Hill, St. Mary, received treatment for various illnesses on Wednesday (February16), at a clinic organized through the efforts of Rotary Clubs in Jamaica and the United States of America. The clinic, held at the Free Hill United Church, was sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Ocho Rios and St. Mary in Jamaica, in partnership with...

The Ministry of Health has confirmed three imported cases of malaria among members of the Haitian under 7 football1 team who are in the island to participate in CONCACAF. The persons are currently being treated. Other members are displaying symptoms of the illness and are also being treated. The Ministry has recommended that in the circumstances they do not participate in...

The Senate approved a Bill empowering the Minister of Health to increase penalties for breaching provisions of legislation relating to certain health and allied professions and services, on Friday February 11. The penalties have remained unchanged for decades, and are not considered serious deterrent to non-compliance with the provisions of the various Acts any more. The Bill,the Health and Allied...

Senior Medical Officer (SMO) at the St. Ann’s Bay Hospital, Nicole Dawkins, is commending the Ministry of Health for taking steps to repair biomedical equipment at the facility. She told JIS News that the hospital is heavily dependent on biomedical equipment to carry out a lot of its functions and when they malfunction, service delivery is affected. “One of the...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer is making an urgent appeal for persons to discontinue engaging in risky sexual behaviour and protect themselves and their partner at all times. Minister Spencer was speaking against the background of the observance of Safe Sex week from now until February 14, 2011 under the theme “Protect your love, use a glove”.   In...