Healthcare Workers in The West Feted at Fun Day
By: , July 15, 2022
Photo: Okoye Henry
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, shares a light moment with healthcare workers at the Healthcare Workers Appreciation Day - Western Region Fun Day at Paradise Park by the River in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, on Wednesday (July 13).
Photo: Okoye Henry
Healthcare workers participate in the Healthcare Workers Appreciation Day - Western Region Fun Day at Paradise Park by the River, in Savanna-la-mar, Westmoreland, on Wednesday (July 13).The Full Story
Healthcare workers in the west were feted at a Fun Day on Wednesday, July 13, held at Paradise Park by the River in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland.
The event was staged on National Healthcare Workers Appreciation Day, and formed part of the activities for ‘Healthcare Workers Appreciation Month’, being observed in July under the theme: ‘Honouring Commitment, Service and Sacrifice’.
The month-long celebration features a series of events and activities at the parish, regional and national levels to recognise healthcare workers.
Other appreciation ceremonies were held on July 13 in St. Ann, St. Catherine and Kingston.
In his address at the event in Savanna-la-Mar, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said the Government is using the month to show appreciation and to say thanks.
“It’s not that you (healthcare workers) don’t deserve thanks every single day, because we are going to continue to do that on an ongoing basis, but we want this day to be special,” the Minister added.
Dr. Tufton argued that healthcare has never had so much pressure, “but healthcare has also never had so much opportunities. So, let’s make use of the opportunities”.
Meanwhile, the Minister mentioned that the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service are currently engaged in salary negotiations for local healthcare workers.
“There is a negotiation going on with the Finance Ministry around salaries, a reclassification exercise. I will soon give you more information around payments and all the other benefits [this will entail],” he added.
He said deliberations are also centred around offering more “security of tenure”, as well as establishing more job posts, as the Government continues to buildout and upgrade more hospitals and health centres across the country.
For her part, Parish Accountant at the Trelawny Health Department, Sameika Preston, said healthcare workers were deserving of the day and recognition.
She noted that work has been hectic, particularly over the past two years at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had to work overtime to meet the needs of patients. So, today is a very good day for us,” Ms. Preston said.