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The National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA) continues to advocate for people not to start smoking, as it is the best way of preventing complications that can arise from the unhealthy practice. Manager for NCDA's Western Region, Clifton Morris said that the significant health consequences of prolonged tobacco use are well known, and ongoing public education about diseases that smoking...

The Ministry of Health has advised that full services have resumed at the Bustamante Hospital for Children, the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, and the National Chest Hospital this morning (May 31). The Kingston Public Hospital and the University Hospital of the West Indies will continue to offer only emergency and in-patient services. All health centres in Kingston and St. Andrew re-open...

The paediatric ward at the May Pen Hospital, in Clarendon, was painted recently, and the children presented with books by volunteers at the bauxite/alumina company, Jamalco. The company also plans to donate items of furniture to the ward. The volunteers also cleaned the shelter for homeless persons in the parish capital, operated by the Clarendon Association of Street People (CLASP)....

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has lauded the efforts of the management and staff of hospitals in the corporate area and Spanish Town, who have been working tirelessly since the recent unrest in sections of Kingston. The Minister made the commendation today (May 29) during his tour of the University Hospital of the West Indies, National Chest and Spanish...

Director of Policy, Planning and Evaluation at the Child Development Agency (CDA), Audrey Budhi, has said that all boys detained during the Joint Police/Military Operation in Western Kingston have been reintegrated into their communities. According to Ms. Budhi, after the minors were debriefed and counselled by CDA officers, they were reunited with family members. In some cases they were taken...

Head of the Ministry of Health's (MOH) Emergency Operation Centre, Dr. Marion Bullock DuCasse, is assuring the public that the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) has adequate supply of blood bags to facilitate the collection of blood for emergency surgeries. This assurance comes amid rumours that a number of blood collection centres are out of blood bags. "The National Blood...

President of the Jamaica Red Cross, Dr. Jaslin Salmon, has said that the organisation would be providing psycho-social support for residents of Tivoli Gardens, who have been traumatised by the unrest in the area. "We visited the Tivoli area, the main area of operation on Tuesday (May 26), and while there, we saw needs that we are at present meeting....

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has assured that security is in place to ensure the safety of the staff at both the Kingston Public and Victoria Jubilee Hospitals. "We prevented the staff from driving cars. We have been driving ambulances and the police have been escorting them in, and even when there was no security, the people came and...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, is refuting claims in some sections of the international media, that the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) is under siege by criminal elements. "No such thing exists, it is not true and I categorically deny that," he stated, at a press briefing at Jamaica House, today (May 26). Meanwhile, Mr. Spencer said the hospital continues...

The Ministry of Health is urging persons to donate blood, as supplies are still at critically low levels. This request has resulted from the ongoing operations being carried out by the security forces in west Kingston, and the flare-up of violence in a number of other communities. "We are unable to process blood at the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS)...

Director of Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr. Sonia Copeland, has issued an appeal to parents and caregivers to exercise vigilance in the packaging, use and storage of chemicals, to reduce the high incidence of poisoning in Jamaican children. The call came as the nation observes National Poison Prevention Week, May 23 to 28. "We...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, is appealing to persons within Tivoli Gardens in Kingston to call the Ministry's emergency operation centre if they or someone they know is in need of emergency medical assistance. Addressing a press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister today (May 25), Mr. Spencer informed that several persons claiming to be inside the...