Dr Christopher Tufton, minister of health and wellness, on Thursday (November 3) announced the $36.5-million expansion and rehabilitation of the Malvern and New Market health centres in St Elizabeth.

The build out comes as the island moves toward primary health care reform, in line with the 10-year Strategic Plan for Health.

“It signals our clear intention to meet the changing health needs of the population, including new requirements for the delivery of care in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Tufton said during the contract signing ceremony for the two facilities on Thursday.

“This is as we re-imagine a comprehensive approach to improving primary care services across our facilities; and includes not only upgrades to the physical infrastructure, but also making available human resources that are sufficient in number and competencies, and the introduction of an information systems for health that supports the delivery of care,” he added.

REORGANISATION OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE SERVICES

The next decade, the minister noted, is to see the reorganisation of primary health care services to deliver on “efficiency through an integrated health systems network, replete with technologies that provide safe access to patient information and which allows for information sharing among health care providers
and toward universal health coverage”.

The Malvern Health Centre is to benefit from the expansion of the facility to include a waiting area, a medical records department, two additional offices, entry portico, ramp and steps. A customer service room, weighing room, an additional office and a storage room are also to form a part of the works, in
addition to roof replacement. At the New Market facility, works will include tiling and upgrades to the doors.

There is also the implementation of the Black River Hospital Developmental Plan.

Forming a part of that plan are the construction and renovation of the entrance to the hospital to provide dual access for the seamless movement of vehicular traffic and pedestrians in and out of the facility; renovation of the Accident and Emergency area; the addition of a new ambulance; and upgrades of the
radiographic equipment to a digitised process.

“We are also pursuing the development of other health centres, including the comprehensive $13-million renovation of the Balaclava Health Centre to enable enhanced responsiveness for disaster safety, water and energy improvements, and a roadmap for risk reduction investment and infrastructural sustainability,”
the minister said.

This is in addition to the $14-million expansion of the Black River Health Centre; the $2-million construction of the external waiting areas at the Junction, Balaclava and Black River health centres; and the current $188-million renovation of the Santa Cruz Health Centre. There is also the renovation of the
Myersville Health Centre, which is to begin in December.