New Brown’s Town Health Centre to Be Completed by Feb. 2027

Construction of the new Brown’s Town Health Centre in St. Ann is targeted for completion by February 2027, with the facility expected to begin accommodating patients by the middle of the year.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, provided the update while speaking with JIS News on Thursday (September 17), following a tour of the construction site.

Dr. Tufton said that following completion of the building, additional time will be required to outfit the facility with the necessary equipment before services commence.

“Certainly, by next year, mid next year, at the outset, people will start occupying this facility,” he added.

The two-storey facility, which spans approximately 20,000 square feet, will be significantly larger than the previous health centre, and is designed to provide expanded primary healthcare services to residents of Brown’s Town and surrounding communities.

Dr. Tufton said he was pleased with the progress of the development, noting that the structure is taking shape.

It is a lovely structure getting form and shape. Two floors, 20,000 square feet. I’m told about 10 times as big as the previous health centre, with more services, and more diagnostics,” he outlined.

The Minister noted that the development forms part of efforts to modernise primary healthcare delivery and provide patients with greater access to services in a more comfortable environment.

“The idea is modernising our health facility at the primary level here in Brown’s Town, to ensure that we have more doctors, nurses, more services,” Dr. Tufton said.

He noted that the expanded services should also help to ease pressure on the St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital by allowing more patients to receive appropriate care at the primary healthcare level.

Dr. Tufton further stated that the new facility will offer oral health and laboratory services and will be equipped with electrocardiogram (ECG) machines.

It will also have larger waiting areas and accommodate additional doctors and nurses.

Extended opening hours could also be considered based on demand.

The Minister said he has been advised by the local project team that construction is progressing well and that there is a good working relationship between the contractor and the Ministry.

Ground was broken for the new Brown’s Town Health Centre on June 27 of last year.

The project was estimated at approximately $1 billion and is part of the Government’s wider programme to strengthen Jamaica’s primary healthcare infrastructure.

In preparation for construction, services at the former health centre were relocated in March 2025 to a renovated temporary facility at the Brown’s Town Community College campus in Huntley, St. Ann.