Health Ministry Awards 151 Scholarships

In its continued mission to increase healthcare skills, the Ministry of Health and Wellness has awarded 151 medical scholarships under the Dr. Barry Wint Memorial Scholarship, at a cost of more than $280 million.

The scholarship programme is part of a strategic response, an intentional effort to build capacity, fill gaps and strengthen the health system to ensure that every citizen, whether rural or urban, regardless of circumstance, has access to quality care.

Speaking at the scholarship presentation ceremony at the AC Marriott Hotel in New Kingston, on Friday (August 22), Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said while the Government is building out hospitals, upgrading health centres, it is adding new posts, with nearly 3,000 new posts being added in the category of nurses and doctors.

“But additional posts, like in the area of speech therapy and social work, the real challenge is the people who man the stations, who provide the expertise, we don’t have enough, and we don’t have enough for a lot of reasons, hence the effort to get more trained persons in the sector,” the Minister said.

He pointed out that the challenge in the future is going to be human resources, like manning the various facilities, and urged the scholarship recipients to consider “not just the obligation of your commitment via the scholarship but to consider making life in Jamaica a permanent arrangement”.

“Do well so that you can get back into the system and provide the attention that the country deserves. The programme is working. When we track the first cohort that had been awarded or was awarded last year, some have graduated, because they got to their final year, and others are still in the system,” Dr. Tufton said.

The programme commenced last year with the awarding of more than 500 scholarships to young persons from across the island, to pursue undergraduate and graduate studies in a health-related field, with some getting up to $1 million.

Under the Dr. Barry Wint Memorial Scholarship, persons are selected to study medical technology, human resources for health, medical social work, epidemiology, medical physics, health records management, hospital/healthcare management, information systems for health, pharmacy and dentistry, as well as nursing and medicine.