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Jamaicans are being encouraged to make greater use of their local health centres to reduce the burden on hospitals. There has been a significant increase in the number of Jamaicans accessing treatment at Accident and Emergency (A and E) Departments since the abolition of user fees at public health facilities on April 1, 2008. Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer,...

The Ministry of Health has made a submission to Cabinet for more supportive equipment and supplies, to enable health facilities to continue to effectively care for and treat patients with the Influenza A (H1N1) virus. Health and Environment Minister, Rudyard Spencer, made the disclosure at his post-Sectoral press briefing held today (July 16) at his office in Kingston. The equipment...

Several aspects of the country's health sector will be modernised, under the Republic of Korea-aided health information system initiative, which was announced by Health Minister, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, yesterday (July 15). Elaborating on the initiative at his post-Sectoral Debate press briefing, at the Ministry, in Kingston, today (July 16), the Minister pointed out that the US$1.5 million support includes the...

A Centre of Excellence for Health Workforce Planning is to be opened in Jamaica by February 2010, Health Minister, the Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has announced. The centre, he said, forms part of efforts to modernise Jamaica's public health sector, by improving the human, physical, and technological infrastructures. Speaking during the 2009/10 Sectoral Debate in Gordon House on Wednesday (July 15),...

Enrollment in the National Health Fund (NHF) for 2008/09 increased by 16 per cent over the previous year, with the number of beneficiaries currently at 404,615, Health Minister, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has announced. Making his presentation in the 2009/10 Sectoral Debate in the House, on July 15, Mr. Spencer said the number of new beneficiaries securing NHF cards was 35,947,...

The Ministry of Health is considering a proposal from the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) to abolish user fees for children, up to the age of 12 years, who use that institution. Portfolio Minister, Hon. Ruddy Spencer, said this has become necessary, as a study conducted after the abolition of user fees in public hospitals on April 1,...

There is a commitment of $100 million by the Government this year, to continue the programme of reclamation of mined out lands in St. Ann. This was stated by Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding at a Town Hall meeting, held yesterday (July 15) at the Ocho Rios High School, in the parish. The Prime Minister was responding to a...

Labour and Social Security Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles, has said that the proposed Occupational Safety and Health Act will protect the welfare of workers and safeguard businesses by ensuring that employers put the necessary health and safety measures in place. "The legislation will be very strong. Health, safety, and security at the workplace will be guarded by (this) legislation," the...

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, makes his Sectoral Debate presentation on Wednesday (July 15) in Parliament. Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J.C. Hutchinson, will be the other Government speaker. Opposition Members of Parliament, Dr. Peter Phillips (East Central St. Andrew) and Michael Peart (Southern Manchester) will also make their contributions. The Sectoral Debate...

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sheila Campbell-Forrester, says special attention must be paid to women's welfare during this period of financial crisis. She insists that this must be so, because when a country faces financial difficulties, women tend to fare worse than men. "They tend to face more job cuts, girls are generally the ones...

Director of Emergency Disaster Management and Special Services in the Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr. Marion Bullock DuCasse, has expressed satisfaction with the high priority that some employers have been giving to the Influenza A H1N1 situation. Speaking at a recent JIS Think Thank session, Dr. Bullock DuCasse said that, based on prior conversations, many employers have indicated that they...

The St. Ann branch of the Jamaica Red Cross is the beneficiary of a refurbished ambulance, courtesy of St. Ann Jamaica Bauxite Partners (SAJBP). The unit was officially handed over to the branch on July 13, at a ceremony held at the SAJBP in Discovery Bay. "We believe that healthcare is essential and it is of paramount importance in Jamaica,...