Damaged health centre set to reopen

The Catherine Hall Health Centre in St James, which sustained extensive damage during Hurricane Melissa, is set to reopen in two weeks, restoring access to essential services for the community.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, made the disclosure during a tour of the facility to get a first-hand look at the progress of the repairs.

"We've been working towards getting the furniture in and completing the necessary restoration within two weeks," he said. He also visited the Green Pond and Glendevon health centres where remedial works are under way. At Green Pond, Tufton said that maternal and child health services have resumed, signalling a steady return to normal operations. The minister reported that 19 of the 22 health centres in the parish are now functional. He noted that there has been a noticeable increase in patient visits to facilities, with usage climbing to over 90 per cent of pre-hurricane levels following an initial decline in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

He urged residents to continue visiting primary healthcare facilities, especially for the management of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension to reduce pressure on hospital emergency departments. Tufton said that with phase one restoration in the parish almost complete, with the resumption of health services under the roofs of the existing facilities, focus will now shift to phase two, which will involve more substantial structural repairs to the most severely impacted facilities.