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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...

The Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer has indicated his outrage by a report carried in the media, suggesting that gunmen have taken over control of the Kingston Public Hospital and are forcing surgeons to treat "gangsters". The Minister would like to assure the public that the Kingston Public Hospital remains under the control of the Ministry of Health through...

The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) has been activated to respond to and monitor the effects of outbreaks of violence on the health sector, as well as to coordinate the Ministry of Health's intervention, based on instructions from Portfolio Minister, Hon. Rudyard Spencer. Minister of Health, the Hon Rudyard Spencer The EOC will also maintain the Ministry's operations, as well as...

Persons who are dissatisfied with the services they receive at public health facilities are being encouraged to make full use of the mechanisms that are in place to resolve customer complaints, instead of routing their concerns through the media. According to Regional Technical Director for the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), Dr. Michael Coombs, much of the negativity that...

Concerned about some of the products coming into Jamaica, the Ministry of Health is reminding importers that they must seek a permit to import selected items. Under the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations, the importation of items such as food and some cosmetics, medical devices and pharmaceuticals require a permit. Items currently being imported without prior permission by the...

Residents of Cumberland, in North West Clarendon, are happier now that they can access the services of a new health centre, which was opened on May 19. This is one of the many projects undertaken by the Department of Local Government and the European Union Banana Support Programme (EUBSP), to facilitate the Rural Economic and Social Infrastructure Support Project (RESISP)...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has said that work on the proposed National Nutrition Policy should be ready for implementation by October. Ministern of Health, Hon Rudyard Spencer Responding to questions from Opposition Member of Parliament for Central Kingston, Ronald Thwaites, during Wednesday's (May 12) sitting of the House of Representatives, Mr. Spencer said work on the document is...

Persons living with HIV and AIDS stand to benefit under a four-year grant programme, through which they can access financing for income generating activities and skills training. Some $9 million (US$100,000) has been allocated for the programme this year, which is being funded by the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS and managed by the National AIDS Committee (NAC) in collaboration with...

Chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), Lyttleton Shirley, has praised local nurses for their contribution to the health sector over the years. Mr. Shirley rated the role of nurses as pivotal, not only in addressing communicable diseases, but also in the adverse case of providing chronic care management to patients. He was speaking at a ceremony to...

The Government has been asked to give consideration to undertaking cloud seeding, as one of several possible measures to counter the effects of the current drought. Cloud seeding is the technique of stimulating or enhancing rainfall, by distributing dry ice crystals or silver iodide particles over developing storm clouds, in a specific area of the atmosphere. This was one of...

Director of Health Promotion and Protection in the Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr. Eva Lewis-Fuller, is adamant that medical institutions involved in the delivery and care of infants, must become certified under the baby-friendly hospital initiative. This means that operators of the institutions must ensure that they maintain supportive health care practices crucial to breastfeeding promotion, and adhere to international...