Family Caregivers Pilot Programme Launched at Bustamante Hospital for Children
By: , January 20, 2026
Photo: Dave Reid
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (centre), embraces two parents who have signed up for the Family Caregivers Pilot Programme, which was launched on January 19 at the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC) in St. Andrew. The parents are Tasheka Anderson (third left) and Francine Perry (fifth left). Also at the launch are (from left) Chief Nursing Officer in the Ministry, Patricia Ingram Martin; Chief Executive Officer at the hospital, Anthony Wood; Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, and Deputy Director of Nursing Services at the hospital, Michelle Finnikin Campbell.
Photo: Dave Reid
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (right, seated), in discussion with parent, Tasheka Anderson (left), who has signed up for the Family Caregivers Pilot Programme, which was launched on January 19, at the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC) in St. Andrew. Others pictured (from left) are Chief Executive Officer at the hospital, Anthony Wood; Principal Director for Client Services at the Ministry, Dr. Kimorley Humphrey, and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie.The Full Story
The Ministry of Health and Wellness has launched a Family Caregivers Pilot Programme at Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC), geared at allowing designated family members or close friends to stay with and support patients in public hospitals.
Under the initiative, the role of family members is to provide non-clinical care such as comfort, feeding, and emotional support, while the licensed healthcare team provides all medical treatment.
This is intended to apply to all public hospitals operating under Jamaica’s Regional Health Authorities (RHAs).
It aims to integrate designated family caregivers as essential partners in the care process through a standardised national framework, improving patient outcomes, enhancing the care experience, and optimising healthcare resources.
Delivering the keynote address at the BHC in St. Andrew on January 19, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said the initiative is about coming up with new and improved methods of supporting care.
Noting that the BHC sees about 35,000 patients per year staying five days on average, and about 55,000 outpatients, the Minister said they are very young children, and it is a very traumatic experience.
“They visit the institution for healing, and more, and that is exactly what they get. They go back home better off than they came as a result of the efforts of our doctors, nurses, and support staff here, and we thank them for that,” the Minister said.
“That experience of isolation, not having their loved ones around them, the experience of being medicated, the experience of surgery, the experience of just seeing others around them who are also not well, and so you see the pain, the suffering, the trauma. It generates significant fear and, indeed, contributes to a slower healing process because therapy starts with the mind,” he continued.
The Minister said that over time, the programme will be mainstreamed in hospitals but over the next financial year it will be introduced at two other hospitals, and that it involves the protocols around how interaction is done with patients, how privacy is protected, and “there are sanitary conveniences which you will have to have access to, so we have to put those basic infrastructure in place, and what you can and cannot do”.
“I use the opportunity to say to those who will accommodate the programme, as well as those who will be facilitated to participate in the programme, it is up to you to ensure that the programme works and that we can mainstream it and expand it into other institutions. It is impatient of debate whether it can work or not,” the Minister said.
The objective of the programme is to create a structured, safe, and supportive framework that allows designated family caregivers to participate in patient care, enhancing patient comfort, safety, and satisfaction.
Under the initiative, a designated caregiver is a family member or close friend chosen by the patient (or their legal guardian) to provide support during hospitalisation. A maximum of four caregivers can be registered per patient.
The four include parents or guardians. Only one caregiver may be at the bedside at a time. Caregivers must be at least 18 years old (exceptions may be made for parents of
paediatric patients); free from symptoms of infectious illnesses, and willing to complete a mandatory hospital orientation.
