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The Ministry of Health is projecting significant savings, should all the Public Sector Transformation Unit's (PSTU) recommendations for the restructuring of the Ministry, be implemented. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dr. Jean Dixon, today (September 8), told a meeting of Parliament's Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC), at Gordon House, that the Government would save approximately $50 million annually, just...

The Government reached an agreement with its registered nurses Wednesday to pay outstanding allowances owed to them since 2008, costing some $500 million, by the end of October. The agreement settled the most pressing issue affecting the industrial relationship between the Government and the nurses represented by the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ), whose latest protest action was a sick...

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has developed a strategic security plan aimed at making health facilities safer for patients and workers, following security breaches at some institutions, recently. "The Ministry of Health has taken a decision to tailor security contracts to the security profile of individual health facilities, having regard to the fact that the security needs of one institution...

Registered Government nurses resumed normality Friday afternoon (September 3), after a meeting with Minister of Labour and Social Security, the Hon Pearnel Charles, at his Ministry, North Street, Kingston. Mr. Charles told JIS News after meeting with NAJ President, Edith Allwood-Anderson, and her team, that he had been advised by the NAJ that industrial action taken by its members would...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has announced the allocation of an additional $60 million to fund the Ministry's vector control programme, in light of recent dengue fever outbreaks in the island. Mr. Spencer told journalists at a press conference at the Ministry, in downtown Kingston, today (September 3), that the funds will be used for heightened surveillance, public education,...

The Child Health and Development Passport, which contains information about the growth and development of a child from birth to 17, was officially implemented today (September 1), during a press briefing, held at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, downtown Kingston. In his remarks, Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness, explained that the passport, which was developed in collaboration with his Ministry...

A new Cardiac Unit is to be constructed and equipped at the Bustamante Hospital for Children, in Kingston. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this undertaking was signed on August 27 by the hospital with various stakeholders, including the Gift of Life Rotary District 7020. This agreement, which is valid for five years, will also involve the systematic development of...

Medical supplies and equipment valued at US$56,000 were handed over to the Gayle Health Clinic, St. Mary, on Wednesday (August 25). The items were donated by the Solomonic Philanthropic Lodge, an organization comprising Jamaicans living in Canada. They included; blood pressure monitors, wheel chairs, walking sticks, syringes, suction kits, crutches, isolation gowns and scrubs. Speaking at the handing over ceremony,...

Eye screening sessions under the Jamaica/Cuba Eyecare Programme will resume in Kingston on Thursday, September 2. Sessions will be held every Thursday in the month of September (September 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30) at the National Chest Hospital, and will begin at 8.30 a.m. each day. Approximately 80 persons are expected to be screeened and selected from each session....

The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) in partnership with the Ministry of Health held consultations with various churches and faith based organisations (FBOs) in response to the prevalence of chronic diseases and the need to promote healthy lifestyles, Thursday (August 26). Director, Disease Prevention and Control in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sonia Copeland, noted that the consultations were aimed...

A significant number of persons turned up at the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) yesterday (August 24) to participate in a blood drive staged by the agency, in partnership with the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS). Blood Donor Organiser at the NBTS, Carol Williams emphasised that the drive was a good initiative and the amount of blood received would go a...

Friends of the Black River Hospital, a support group for the St. Elizabeth based institution, has installed new windows at the facility at a cost of $1.4 Million. At a handing over ceremony at the Hospital on Monday (August 23), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Diana Brown, told the gathering that the work of the group, including installation of the windows,...