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Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has ordered that an audit be done and an investigation be undertaken, immediately, into the approval process for session and on call payments for medical groups in the public health sector. The Minister met with representatives of the medical groups on Friday (August 28), and informed them that there may be some irregularities, as...

The Ministry of Health is advising persons to remain vigilant and continue to take the recommended precautions to protect against the spread of Influenza A(H1N1). The World Health Organisation (WHO) has cautioned that persons should continue to take the necessary care, as there may be a second wave of the disease, which would see an increase in the number of...

Registration for the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) Health Card begins today (September 1), at all public hospitals and health centres across the island. The card is another of the Government's thrusts to ensure easier access to health care and drugs, since the abolition of user fees in public sector health facilities last year. The card will allow persons from public...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding has said that, despite many criticisms, his Government remains committed to the abolition of user fees in hospitals. He said that those who can afford to pay, should pay what they can afford. But, the problem has always been that the country was never able to develop an appropriate means to determine whether a...

The Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, has reiterated that the Government welcomes and encourages private investment in the health sector, as it provides easier access to quality health care for the public. The Minister, who was speaking at the official opening of the Hargreaves Memorial Hospital, in Mandeville, on Thursday (August 27), said that delivering quality health care is...

Medical supplies totalling approximately Can$25,000 (J$2 million) have been presented to the Port Antonio Hospital, by Helping Hands of Jamaica Foundation in Canada. Included in the items are a cardio treograph machine, one electro cardiogram machine and a blood bank refrigerator. The presentation, which was made during a short ceremony at the hospital on August 21, is part of a...

Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sheila Campbell-Forrester, has said that Jamaica could save up to $2.8 billion from the medical costs for treating chronic non-communicable diseases, from pursuing healthier lifestyles. Speaking at a faith-based organisations workshop, jointly staged by the Ministry and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO), at the Jamaica Pegasus...

Pastor of the East Queen Street Baptist Church, in Kingston, Reverend Dr. Roy Henry, has emphasised the role which churches and other faith-based organisations can play in the reduction and prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases and illnesses in the country. Addressing a faith-based organisations chronic disease forum, jointly hosted by the Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organisation...

Medical Officer of Health (MOH) for St. Catherine, Dr. Francisca Prosper-Chen, has raised the importance of parents and schools recognising the value of immunisation. "It is important that we stress at this time that your child must be fully immunised for school. And for school officials to understand that, if children are admitted who are not fully immunised, we will...

As of February next year, Jamaicans should have increased access to drugs, under the free health care programme, when the Government of Jamaica Health Card comes fully into effect. The card was launched Thursday (August 20) at The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston. It will enable Jamaicans to more easily access drugs on the Vital, Essential and Necessary (VEN) list...

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has donated $2.2 million towards a breastfeeding pilot project in St. Catherine and Clarendon. At the handing over ceremony, held on August 14 at the Clarendon Health Department, Chairman of the Exclusive Breastfeeding Pilot Project Steering Committee, Michelle Coore-Brown, gave an overview of the project, emphasising that it seeks to have mothers making the...

Users of the Brown's Town Health Centre, in St. Ann, are expected to benefit from the comfort of the Lesma Johnston pre and post natal care wing, which is the latest addition to the facility. Rehabilitation work was recently carried out at the centre to add the new wing, at a cost of more than $3 million. The facility was...