Government Allocates $136 Million to Maintain and Upgrade Health Facilities

The Government has allocated $136.1 million in the 2010/11 Estimates of Expenditure, for the maintenance and upgrading of health facilities across the island.
Some $88 million will be spent on the Health Facilities Improvement Programme, which is an ongoing project for maintaining and upgrading the buildings and equipment of health care institutions. The provision will also facilitate works to be done on Block-J of the Mandeville Regional Hospital, in Manchester.
Another $15 million is earmarked for the procurement of small medical equipment for selected hospitals and other health care institutions, while $28.1 million is to be spent in relation to the Government’s disease prevention and control programme. The disease control programme was developed to maintain disease prevention and control measures such as the surveillance of water supplies, the food trade and sewage disposal systems.
The Bellevue Hospital, in Kingston, will also receive an upgrade to its facilities with repairs to be carried out on selected wards at the institution, at a cost of $5 million.
The Government will continue spending on areas, such as the prevention and control of drug abuse, which will get funding of $4.2 million. This expenditure will see the establishment of necessary infrastructure within five rural and urban communities to develop self-sustained, integrated, demand-reduction programmes, in an effort to reduce the demand for drugs. The provision is to facilitate various workshops and cover administrative expenses.