New hospital for western Jamaica

Plans are advanced for the construction of a 220-bed hospital for children in western Jamaica.

The governments of Jamaica and China yesterday signed an agreement for the building of the Western Children's Hospital in Montego Bay, St James.

The facility will be the first to be constructed in the island since the May Pen Hospital was built in the 1970s and will provide increased access to paediatric treatment and care.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton said that the facility would bring additional beds to the nation's health system.

Tufton said that the new facility means "we're able to now deal fairly adequately with the demands of childcare".

He said that following completion of the new hospital, families would be able to access specialised care for children under 12 years of age and adolescents closer to their communities.

Awaiting approval

The construction is waiting on approval for lands adjacent to the Cornwall Regional Hospital, which will be the site of the new health facility.

Tufton said that once approval has been granted and the necessary infrastructure is

in place, "within a year, we'll see a tangible product being presented".