Minister of Health & Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton has revealed to members of the diaspora that Jamaica is keen to improve customer service in the public health system, as the island moves to safeguard the best possible health outcomes for its people.

According to the minister, who was addressing the diaspora in Florida on Wednesday, September 25, attention to improved customer service is one of the essential elements of “empowering communities to combat non-communicable diseases” — the focus of his talk as part of The Consul General Oliver Mair’s Distinguished Lecture Series at the Island Space Caribbean Museum.

“Oftentimes when the complaints come, it is because somebody never talked to patients or persons want to hear something about their relative and [they don’t get that chance],” he said. “It is a message that we have to get across: that therapy is very much embedded in the customer service experience – not just the doctor or the prescription. We really have to work at that.”

He added: “More often than not, I have determined, the problem is not so much a resource problem as it is a management problem. It is how we allocate the resources we have to create optimal benefits…”

The minister also used the opportunity to update diaspora members on other efforts to ensure the health of persons of all ages.

These efforts, he noted, include continuing the dialogue with private sector stakeholders on the introduction of front-of-package labelling, and the Schools Nutrition Policy, which is being progressed to help create a culture of better food choices among Jamaicans — some 77 per cent of whom died because of a NCD such as hypertension and diabetes in 2020.

“From a behavioural standpoint, it is understandable why if you start with the kids, you are likely to develop better habits – habits that are likely to become permanent over time,” he said.

These efforts are complemented by programmes such as the ongoing Jamaica Moves, which has its focus on the promotion of movement, health checks and nutrition in schools, communities and workplaces; Know Your Numbers, which promotes screening; and New Limb, New Life, which helps to make prostheses more affordable for persons.