More Hospital Beds for Spanish Town Hospital and Bustamante Hospital for Children

Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (third right), Minister of Health and Wellness, examines one of the new hospital beds that were procured by SERHA at a cost of over US$200,000.00 for the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC) and Spanish Town Hospital, during the official handover ceremony held on Thursday, July 27, 2023, on the grounds of BHC. Observing from right to left are: Mr. Wentworth Charles, Board Chairman, SERHA; Mr. Anthony Wood, Chief Executive Officer, Bustamante Hospital for Children; Dr. St. Clair Clarke, Acting Senior Medical Officer, Spanish Town Hospital; Ms. Veta McDermott, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Spanish Town Hospital; Mrs. Novellette Robinson, Director of Nursing Services, Spanish Town HospitaL; and Mrs. Beverley Senior Berry, Director of Nursing Services, Bustamante Hospital for Children.

KINGSTON, Jamaica. Thursday, July 27, 2023: The South East Regional Heath Authority (SERHA) has boosted the capacity of the Spanish Town Hospital (STH) and the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC) with more hospital beds to improve patient care delivery.

STH received 40 new Manual Adult Beds at a cost of USD 68,425.00. BHC received new six orthopaedic beds, 30 cribs, and 20 paediatric beds, and STH received 15 paediatric beds (35 paediatric beds in total), inclusive of five years of preventative maintenance at a cost of USD $179,040.00.

During the handover ceremony on Thursday, July 27, 2023, Mr. Wentworth Charles, Board Chairman, SERHA, said that efforts are being made to increase the number of beds available at our facilities so that patients can be treated to a higher standard. He stated that the hospital administration should provide an appropriate report if the beds need to be repaired.

In his remarks, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health and Wellness, said, "It is important to keep procuring additional infrastructure, in this case, beds, to improve patient care at our hospitals. I take this opportunity to commend SERHA for the work that they have been doing to enhance the Region."

He further explained that over the last two weeks, Cabinet has approved of CT scans for the Kingston Public and Cornwall Regional Hospitals. He added that the CT scans are very important diagnostic equipment that will replace old equipment and certainly add to the response time of the population within our health system. Minister Tufton said that the need for more hospitals, more equipment, more employees, including nurses and doctors, and an emphasis on prevention and cure is indicated by the health profile of our population. He added that the Ministry of Health and Wellness will introduce a maintenance policy that will mandate that every piece of equipment procured have a service contract and a depreciated value so that equipment may be replaced automatically.

STH currently has a bed capacity of just over 516 beds. In order to meet the growing healthcare needs of the public over the medium to long term, STH is one of the hospitals that is benefiting from the largest infrastructure upgrade under the Government's Health Systems Strengthening Programme for Public Health Facilities. BHC has a bed capacity of 289, including a five-bed Intensive Care Unit that provides critical care services to critically ill patients.

SERHA is responsible for the delivery of healthcare services to the residents of St. Catherine, St. Thomas, Kingston and St. Andrew. This represents 47 per cent of the population of Jamaica.

SERHA manages 10 major hospitals and 92 health centres. 

Mr. Wentworth Charles (centre), Board Chairman, SERHA, explains to Mrs. Novellette Robinson (left), Director of Nursing Services, Spanish Town Hospital, and Mrs. Beverley Senior Berry (right), Director of Nursing Services, Bustamante Hospital for Children, that these new beds are very reliable and they will benefit the patients that seek treatment at our facilities.

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