Fri | Sep 12, 2025

Tufton: Jamaica’s health service better than five years ago

Published:Saturday | February 22, 2025 | 12:08 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
From left: Dr Tahira Redwood, interventional cardiologist at the Hospiten health facility in Montego Bay, St James; Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett; Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton; Pero Luis Cobiella Beauvais, Hospiten vice chairman and chief execu
Christopher Thomas
From left: Dr Tahira Redwood, interventional cardiologist at the Hospiten health facility in Montego Bay, St James; Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett; Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton; Pero Luis Cobiella Beauvais, Hospiten vice chairman and chief executive officer; and Jose Maria Turiso, Spanish ambassador to Jamaica. The occasion was yesterday’s unveiling of Hospiten’s newly opened catheterisation laboratory for heart-related medical procedures. The state-of-the-art laboratory, which is the first of its kind in western Jamaica, was set up at a cost of US$900,000.

WESTERN BUREAU:

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has declared that Jamaica’s healthcare system is now stronger than it was five years ago, thanks to local and international partnerships.

Speaking at the official opening of a new catheterisation laboratory at the Hospiten health facility in Montego Bay, St James, yesterday, Dr Tufton was wary about a United States health advisory issued last year warning its residents about the state of healthcare in Jamaica. He urged those who issue such advisories to acknowledge Jamaica’s progress.

“Jamaica is known for having a quality product, and it is something we should be proud of and celebrate. I think that those assessing us with advisories should take some time to recognise that we are, in fact, improving our offerings. As a consequence, Jamaica, from a health perspective, is a better place today than it was five years ago,” said Tufton.

The minister emphasised that the nation deserves credit for its advancements and called for continued partnerships, including bilateral collaborations, to further enhance healthcare services.

He pointed to the ongoing restoration of the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in St James as a prime example of these efforts. The project, set to be completed by April 15, 2026, has seen its cost soar to $21.4 billion due to delays and challenges since noxious fumes and other issues were first reported in 2016.

“The reality is, we could have patched up CRH and kept it as a half-broken, inconsistent infrastructure that works some of the time and does not work all the time. But a lot of people are not seeing the bigger picture – that it was an important institution in the overall strategy of expansion,” Tufton explained.

He highlighted the Government’s significant investment in creating a modern facility, including the construction of the Western Children and Adolescent Hospital next to CRH and the strategic partnership with Hospiten.

In January 2024, the United States issued a Level 3 travel advisory for Jamaica, citing concerns about crime and healthcare infrastructure. Jamaica’s Ambassador to the US, Audrey Marks, called for the advisory to be revised due to its harsh tone. However, a July 25 update maintained the advisory, advising Americans to reconsider travel and exercise caution regarding medical services.

Looking ahead, Tufton proposed that Hospiten could support the healthcare system by offering clinical rotations for doctors and equipment. He also encouraged insurance companies to assess Jamaica’s evolving health profile and adapt their policies to reflect ongoing improvements.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com