SRHA upgrades more than 12 south-central health centres with hurricane-resilient design

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — More than a dozen health centres across south-central Jamaica have been refurbished and enlarged to keep pace with rising demand for primary care, according to a senior administrator with the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA).

Speaking recently to the Jamaica Observer, SRHA director Michael Bent said several of the upgraded facilities are already serving patients even though they have yet to be formally reopened.

Bent traced much of the rebuilding programme to the destruction caused by Hurricane Beryl in 2024. "In 2024 after the passage of Hurricane Beryl. Some of our health facilities were damaged and we made the decision to restore them with resilience. We have the Newell Health Centre, Bellevue Health Centre, and Southfield Health Centre. Those three were totally transformed. Before Beryl the [clinics] had timber roofs. Now we have changed all of those to ensure that the roofs are slab, concrete," he said.

"We have expanded in some areas, so that we can take on more service space. We also put in the infrastructure for electronics as we are going digital," Bent added.

Under a programme called Operation Refresh, the SRHA has also overhauled the Fyffes Pen, Ginger Hill, Myersville, and Junction health centres in St Elizabeth, while the Craighead, Robin's Hall, and Lincoln clinics in Manchester have been similarly upgraded. Work continues at Cross Keys, Harmons, and Pratville, Bent noted.

In Clarendon, the Frankfield, Raymond's, Toll Gate, Thompson Town, and Cumberland health centres have all been refurbished in recent months.

"In these facilities we changed the furniture, installed air-conditioning units, and have places where staff can have a kitchenette. We also did some landscaping to make the places look more attractive. We put in fencing, so people are now able to go and get health-care service in a friendlier environment and also the upgrades improve staff morale. We have over 12 health centres that we want to have officially reopened," Bent said.

He explained that the rebuilding push has been running for the past five to six years across Manchester, Clarendon, and St Elizabeth, and reflects a deliberate shift away from timber roofing, which had repeatedly been compromised by termite damage after earlier rounds of repair.

"We also made the decision that we needed to improve the facilities where we offer services, so our staff members work in some comfort. Our patients should also be able to access service in comfort," Bent added.