Worried parents soon to sleep easier at Bustamante Hospital
Published:Thursday | July 8, 2021 | 12:11 AMJudana Murphy/Gleaner Writer
The Bustamante Hospital in Kingston will by 2023 offer comfortable overnight accommodation for parents as their children receive medical care.
Ground was broken on Wednesday for the construction and furnishing of the two-storey, 18-room Overnight Parent Suite and Paediatric Cardiac Ward valued at $120 million and $500 million, respectively.
Board chairman of the National Housing Trust (NHT), Lennox Channer, said that parents should not have to face the additional pressure of finding temporary shelter while their children are ill.
“We are creating a home away from home for parents at a time when they need it most. Our vision for this parent overnight facility is that it will allow more parents, particularly those that have travelled long distances to be able to fully support the healing and recovery of their children in a clean, safe, and comfortable environment,” he said.
Though the NHT’s mandate is to deliver homes to its contributors, Channer said the agency was also committed to community development by improving infrastructure that will contribute to the well-being of society.
In addition to funding, the NHT will also provide project-management expertise over the construction period as it partners with the National Health Fund (NHF) and the South East Regional Health Authority.
Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton said that there was enough evidence of the need to expand paediatric and adolescent care in Jamaica.
Citing official statistics, Tufton said that assault and transport accidents were the leading cause of injury and death of persons five to 19 years over the past five years. The prevalence of overweight children under five years has doubled over the past 20 years, and one out of three adolescents were overweight or obese, putting them at risk for developing lifestyle diseases and premature illness such as diabetes.
CURATIVE STRATEGY
Tufton said that the strategic response should be both curative and preventative, with physical activity and a nutrition policy crucial to its success.
Diagnostic services and specialist outpatient blocks will also be constructed at Bustamante.
“These developments are in keeping with our 10-year strategic plan for health and a recognition of the importance of addressing the needs of the full spectrum of age cohorts within the society, and our children represent a critical segment of the nation,” Tufton said of the planned development.
Coordination is being done with partners to add 100 bed spaces across the hospital.
In his keynote address, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the hospital already has the distinction of being the only specialist paediatric hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Construction is due to be resumed within the financial year at the Western Children and Adolescents Hospital, which is sited on the Cornwall Regional Hospital grounds in St James, Holness said.
Meanwhile, the paediatric facility opened a new Drug Serv Pharmacy, which was funded by the NHF at a cost of $70 million.
NHF board member Nicole Ebanks said the pharmacy stands as a commitment to improving the delivery of pharmaceutical services.
The pharmacy serves approximately 8,000 clients monthly and is now equipped with increased dispensing windows for timely processing of prescriptions.