Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has reported minor damage to the majority of the public health facilities across the country, with most fully operational post-earthquake.
Tufton, who spoke at an emergency press briefing, said a “fairly extensive assessment” of all health facilities was conducted after Monday’s 5.6-magnitude earthquake.
“Many of the facilities, having been inspected, remain intact, except for a few. In St Thomas [there was] no major damage. Operations continue as normal both at the primary and secondary levels. Some facilities have been closed just out of taking caution and are doing some further inspections,” said the Minister.
Spanish Town Hospital had minor cracks but remains operational. Within Kingston and St Andrew, five primary healthcare facilities, the Harbour View, Bull Bay, Mavis Bank, and Edna Manley health centres, recorded some minor structural damage. A full assessment is scheduled.
Public health facilities that lost water and electricity are gradually having their services restored.
Minor damage to Type A hospitals
There were minor damage to the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), Bustamante Hospital for Children, Victoria Jubilee Hospital, and the St Joseph Hospital, which are all still operational.
“At St Joseph, the damage was really the field hospital. We had to relocate the patients to the main building. The National Chest Hospital, HOPE Institute, and Sir John Golding were not affected. The University Hospital of the West Indies had some structural damages…it was primarily the administration building, and they were asked to vacate until a more intense assessment is done,” said Tufton.
He shared that northeastern, western, and southern regional health facilities did not have a lot of infrastructure damage because they were farther away from the epicentre.
Private entities such as the Andrews Memorial Hospital, Nuttal Memorial Hospital, and Medical Associates Hospital reported no damage.
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