KINGSTON, Jamaica: Residents of Old Harbour in St Catherine are set to benefit from
significantly improved and expanded healthcare services with the construction of a new
comprehensive health centre in the town. Ground was officially broken for this new
facility today by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, through the Health Systems
Strengthening Programme (HSSP).
The Old Harbour Comprehensive Health Centre, a 2000-square-metre state-of-the-art
facility that will serve approximately 10,000 people per month, will be located on East
Street in Old Harbour. This will replace the current Old Harbour Health Centre, a type 3
facility that serves over 17,000 residents annually but is hindered by space constraints.
The new comprehensive health centre will offer a wide range of primary healthcare
services, including specialist clinics, and critical services such as pharmacy, laboratory,
ECG, phlebotomy, X-ray, physiotherapy, and screenings for ophthalmology and
audiometry. In response to the growing demand for healthcare in the area, the new
centre will also house dedicated sections for dentistry, mental health, and maternal and
child health.
The centre is expected to significantly enhance the Old Harbour’s ability to manage
chronic illnesses and improve overall public health outcomes as the fastest growing
Town in the country. This will also enhance operations at the Spanish Town and May
Pen Hospitals, as residents can now access more non-emergency services closer to
home.
The new facility is being built at a cost of approximately JMD 930 million, which
includes the cost of construction, medical equipment, furniture, and an on-site
wastewater treatment plant. The health centre will also benefit from additional
investments under the HSSP, such as the implementation of the Electronic Health
Records (EHR) system and the Chronic Care Model (CCM), managed network
services, and staff trainings for seamless change management.
The construction, which is expected to be completed by early 2026, is expected to
provide employment for up to 200 persons, directly and indirectly, during the development phase, with an expanded team of medical and support staff once the facility becomes operational.
This project is part of the wider HSSP initiative, which was launched in 2018 with the
aim of strengthening Jamaica’s healthcare system in the prevention and care
management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The HSSP is supported by a US
$50 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), alongside an
additional US $87 million in funding from the Government of Jamaica and a US $10
million grant from the European Union (EU). This facility is primarily funded by the
European Union investment grant.
The Old Harbour Comprehensive Health Centre is one of 13 facilities in central
Jamaica benefiting from this programme, which is expected to transform the country's
health sector by 2029.
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