Construction Of Field Hospital In Westmoreland To Begin Shortly
By: , September 6, 2021
Photo: Serena Grant
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, addresses persons waiting to get the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine at Grange Hill High School in Westmoreland on Thursday (September 2). The occasion was a sensitisation tour of communities and visits to vaccination sites in the parish by Ministry officials.
Photo: Serena Grant
Minister of Health and Wellness, , Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (right), converses with Senior Medical Officer at the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland, Dr. Suman Vemu, during a visit at the facility on Thursday. The visit was part of a sensitisation tour of communities and visits to vaccination sites in the parish by Ministry officials.
Photo: Serena Grant
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, hands out masks and hand sanitisers to persons waiting to be vaccinated at the Negril Health Centre in Westmoreland. The occasion was a sensitisation tour of communities and visits to vaccination sites in the parish by Ministry officials on Thursday (September 2).The Full Story
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says work will commence shortly on the construction of a field hospital at the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland.
He indicated that the contractors have commenced excavation work, adding that “in the next couple of days, [they] will [be] putting in the base material and then, from there, they will build out the frame to complete the facility”.
“The cost of construction, as I understand it, will be $11 million, [and] that is building out the base and the frame, so we can put the actual [field] hospital on top of that. They are estimating that it will take about two to three weeks,” Dr. Tufton further informed.
He was speaking with JIS News following a tour of several vaccination sites in Westmoreland, as well as the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, on Thursday (September 2).
Dr. Tufton advised that the field hospital will provide 36 to 40 additional beds for coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, adding that “it will be a welcome addition because… Savanna-la-Mar Hospital is under a lot of pressure [to provide adequate healthcare delivery]”.
“So, we are looking forward to [the field hospital’s completion], and all systems are now on go to make it happen,” he said.
The Minister further informed of plans to establish field hospitals in Manchester and Clarendon. Similar facilities have already been erected in Kingston, Trelawny, and St. Catherine.
As part of the day’s activities, Dr. Tufton and a team from the Health Ministry also did a drive-through of several communities in Westmoreland, during which he encouraged persons to get vaccinated.
They also handed out masks and hand sanitisers to persons at vaccination sites that were visited.
Dr. Tufton pointed out that the tour would continue “every couple of days, until we cover the country”.
“I think the message has to get across that this is really about all of us, and all of us have to play our part in getting the vaccinations [done]. We have to manage the logistics of going closer to population centres in rural or urban spaces; and I think this is a good start and it will build as we go along,” he added.