Gov’t Exploring Public-Private Partnerships for Delivery of Healthcare – Dr.Tufton

Health Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says the Government is exploring public-private partnership models to assist in the delivery of quality, affordable public health services.

“We believe that in the years to come, more of that partnership will have to be the norm rather than the exception if we are to deliver quality healthcare to our people,” he said.

“Increasingly, we are seeing a need for private services and entrepreneurial activity in healthcare to be linked with the activities of the Government. For too long, they have been separate, and to a large extent this way of operating has been counterproductive,” Dr. Tufton noted further.

He was speaking at the opening of the Partners Interventional Centre of Jamaica (PICJ) Limited on February 8 at Medical Associates Hospital, St. Andrew.

PICJ is a privately owned and operated medical unit dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Noting that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among Jamaicans, accounting for 6,000 deaths annually, the Health Minister lauded the PICJ team for its commitment to delivering this vital service.

“I want to commend the leadership of the PICJ for their tenacity in establishing this centre. The reality is that we have a void in cardiovascular care, and that void has to be filled. The Government is not going to be able to deal with all the gaps that exist,” he pointed out.

Cardiologist and Managing Director of PICJ, Dr. Victor Elliott, said that the entity will be pursuing discussions towards partnership with the Government.

“We want a partnership with the Ministry of Health because we believe there are ways we can make these services more affordable for our Jamaican people,” he said.

Located on the second floor of the Medical Associates Hospital, PICJ offers cardiac consultation as well as non-invasive and invasive tests, including electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram, stress test, Holter monitoring, blood pressure monitoring and cardiac catheterisation.

PICJ houses a full -service 24-hour cardiac care unit and is equipped with a state-of-the-art catheterisation laboratory, an X-ray machine, a telemetry room, four consultation rooms, two procedure rooms, and a recovery room.

Funding partners are Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) Group Limited; Scotiabank Jamaica; and global healthcare solutions company, Medtronic.