Major Upgrades Planned for Slipe Pen Road Health Centre in Kingston

The Slipe Pen Road Comprehensive Health Centre in Kingston is set to receive several upgrades and a facelift as the Government continues its efforts to improve the nation’s primary healthcare facilities.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, made this commitment following a tour of the facility on Thursday (June 12).

The Government has been upgrading health centres across the island under the $1-billion ‘Operation Refresh’ initiative since 2024.

Dr. Tufton noted that the Slipe Pen Road Comprehensive Health Centre, which serves approximately 70,000 patients annually, is one of the largest in the Kingston and St. Andrew region.

He noted that the facility includes a pharmacy, which fills an average of 250 prescriptions daily. It also features a modern laboratory that serves other primary health facilities in the region, conducting up to 800 blood and urine tests daily to screen for conditions such as sickle cell anaemia and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

“But there are some other things that we have to do. We want to add a physiotherapy suite here as part of the extended service. We want to improve the facilities in terms of air conditioning, where possible and necessary. We want to add more aesthetics in terms of the waiting area, seating, paint job, chairs, things that are important to getting the job done and things that are important for patients when they come and they have to wait for the service,” the Minister outlined.

He noted that the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) is also working to improve the turnaround time for laboratory tests done by the Centre.

“The SERHA is investing now in a system that will allow a few days to turn around the results to get it back out into the field. This is a central site and there are collection sites that send their samples in. So, we’re going to be working on that so that doctors can know what the results are sooner, so they can treat the patients in a more efficient way,” Dr. Tufton explained.

He assured that work will get under way on the committed upgrades in short order.

“I’ve asked the team to give me some estimates on some of the work that is required, and we will commit to ensuring that we get some work done in the months to come. I am pleased with the work that is being done in terms of the personnel, the equipment that is here, the pharmacy and the team that is leading the charge. I think they are making a significant contribution to the communities who benefit from the services here,” the Minister stated.

“In addition to that, this facility has an 8:00 p.m. extended opening. As I have announced, in the months to come, we intend to expand to 10:00 p.m., which will mean that more persons will have access at later times with more services. This will mean more opportunities for persons to access their services here rather than go to the KPH (Kingston Public Hospital) Accident and Emergency [Department], or anywhere else for that matter,” Dr. Tufton said.

He reiterated that the Government plans to expand the ‘Operation Refresh’ programme to upgrade more primary healthcare institutions and add services in select health centres, which will lead to more persons being treated.

The Minister outlined that plans are also in train to provide more doctors in health centres across the country.

He pointed out that between 40 and 50 per cent of those facilities, especially in rural areas, are currently manned solely by nurses.

Dr. Tufton said two strategies are being pursued to address this. The first is amending the laws to grant prescriptive rights for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs).

“Secondly, we’re hiring more doctors in the primary healthcare system, so [that] we [will] have a doctor in those health centres. In the case where they are already there, we’ll have them there five days a week as opposed to one day or two days per week. All of this is intended to strengthen primary healthcare and, again, to keep health services in the community in the first instance, until people really need to go to the hospital,” the Minister stated.