On July 8, the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, along with Ambassador Malgorzata Wasilewska officially opened the maternal and neonatal high dependency units (HDUs) at the Spanish Town Hospital.
It is the third of four high-dependency units now in full operation and is made possible through the Programme for the Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality (PROMAC), with donor assistance from the European Union (EU).
Speaking during the function, Minister Tufton said that "these units will, no doubt, help to improve the management of high-risk pregnancies and reduce the incidence of neonatal deaths due to inadequate access to high-dependency care."
He added that the Government and people are grateful to the EU for their continued assistance.
Meanwhile, Head of EU delegation Malgorzata Wasilewska said the units were “sample outputs of the successful cooperation between Jamaica and the EU, which spans some 45 years”.