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Patients visiting the Mandeville Regional Hospital in Manchester will soon benefit from improvement in the services offered at the facility. On a tour of the hospital on Thursday (October 29), Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, informed that work will begin in December, on the construction of a new block at the facility. The project, he said, will increase the...

The Ministry of Health is looking to source cheaper drugs and will report to Cabinet soon on where these drugs are available. "We are looking to buy drugs significantly cheaper than we are buying it now," said portfolio Minister, Hon. Rudyard Spencer. He informed that he was examining a report of "big drug companies abroad and they will give us...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has said that the practise of insured persons accessing treatment at public health facilities, without presenting their insurance details, has to stop. "This business of user fees, a lot a people take us for granted. They come to the hospitals, their unions negotiate insurance for health care for them and all they have to...

Minister of Labour and Social Security, the Hon. Pearnel Charles, is to meet with representatives of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, next week, following the breakdown of wage talks on Thursday (October 29). Mr. Charles told JIS News last night that he would be meeting with the parties to avoid...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer says the Health Ministry is putting together a training programme for Public Health Inspectors' Assistants as part of efforts to shore up the human resources in the public health system. The Minister was speaking at the 63rd annual educational conference of the Jamaica Association of Public Health Inspectors yesterday afternoon (Tuesday October 27, 2009)...

The employment forecast for Jamaica shows opportunities in education, health care and social assistance, and professional and business services, including Information Communication Technology (ICT). Hospitality, financial, scientific and technical services, construction, and creative and cultural industries, also show strong prospects. Manager of the Human Development Unit at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Mr. Steven Kerr, made the revelation as...

There have been modest gains in family planning and reproductive health in the island since 2002, with data showing a decline in the fertility rate and improvement in sexual health practices among the adolescent age group. As contained in the 2008 reproductive health survey, the findings of which were revealed at a dissemination seminar hosted by the National Family Planning...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer says Jamaica has been praised internationally for its management of the Influenza A(H1N1) outbreak. Minister Spencer was speaking at the 63rd annual educational conference of the Association of Public Health Inspectors held at the Iberostar Rose Hall hotel in Montego Bay St. James today (Tuesday, October 27, 2009). Minister Spencer pointed out that the...

The Pratville Health Centre, south Manchester, has been renovated by over 40 employees of Jamalco and residents of the community. Work which was done at the facility on Friday (October 23), forms part of Alcoa's (the parent company of Jamalco) 2009 worldwide month of service, and included repainting the nurses' quarters and benches located in the patients' reception hall. "The...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has lauded the National Family Planning Board (NFPB) for the inroads made by the organisation in increasing the use of condoms, and other forms of contraception, among Jamaicans. The Minister also commended the NFPB for its consistent efforts, over the past 42 years, in offering quality counselling and family planning options and other reproductive...

Jamaica observes Lupus Awareness Month in October, and on Sunday (October 25) the Lupus Foundation of Jamaica will stage its annual symposium at the Physiology Lecture Theatre, University of the West Indies UWI), Mona at 12 noon. The symposium will feature presentations from Consultant Rheumatologist, Department of Medicine, UWI, Dr. Karel De Ceulaer, who will speak on Lupus and Fibromyalgia,...

The Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, has lauded the Jamaica Cancer Society for its work in encouraging persons to get tested for cancer, in a bid to eliminate the disease as a major health challenge in Jamaica. "I commend the members of the Jamaica Cancer Society for the exemplary work that they have done, over the...