Health Minister Commends Administration at St Ann’s Bay Hospital

The administration of the St. Ann’s Bay Hospital has been commended for the excellent performance of the institution, by the Minister of Health, Horace Dalley.
“The government does not run a hospital; the hospital is run by a Director of Nursing Services, the Chief Executive Officer and by the Senior Medical Officer. The face of the hospital are the workers who receive the patients on a daily basis. The love and care that is extended is what is reflected in the administration of our hospitals,” the Minister said. Mr. Dalley was speaking recently at the official opening of a helipad, the emergency medical bay and the refurbished male medical ward at theSt. Ann’s Bay Hospital.
“We have our responsibility at the Ministry of Health, and we believe that it is better to have the Administration of the hospitals on a regional basis, than to return to the central direction from the Ministry of Health,” he said.
Turning to the achievements in the Medical and Administrative Services of the St. Ann’s Bay Hospital last year, Minister Dalley said that the hospital served a total of 69,372 patients in the area of accident and emergency.
“Last year in out-patient clinics, this same hospital, with all of these hard working members of staff, they saw 23,570 Jamaican brothers and sisters. You carried out 2,536 in-patient surgeries last year and I must say you did a marvellous job. You delivered 3,160 babies last year, and the number of still births was 54, which is a decrease in comparison to the year 2005 when you had a total of 86,” the Minister said.
He pointed out that some 21,434 in-patients received their pharmaceutical supplies at the hospital last year and that another 64,239 out-patients received prescriptions.
“This hospital carried out 268,620 tests in its laboratory; 27,681 X-ray examinations were carried out; the number of ultra sounds done was over 3,000, and a total of 61,462 in-patients were seen.
Minister Dalley encouraged the staff to keep up the good work. “Continue to work for the Jamaican people and serve them well,” he said.
The St. Ann’s Bay Hospital is a Type ‘B’ Hospital and accepts patients on a 24-hour basis. The institution has a total bed capacity of 203 with bed occupancy at an average of 82 per cent. The staff complement is currently 506 members.