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A field hospital is scheduled to arrive within the next 24 hours for deployment to Black River, St. Elizabeth. The facility will support healthcare delivery in the parish following the impact of Hurricane Melissa, which caused significant damage to the Black River Hospital. Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, made the disclosure on Saturday (Nov. 1), at a press conference held at the Ministry’s Emergency Operations Centre in Kingston. He said that work on the facility is set to begin on Sunday (Nov. 2), with the support of international humanitarian organisation Samaritan’s Purse. “We’ve done our reconnaissance and identified a site. The team visited yesterday (Oct. 31) and we are coordinating with the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) and other agencies of Government to set up that facility,” he added. Dr. Tufton informed that the field hospital will have all the necessary resources to provide critical care and operational support to the medical team in St. Elizabeth. “It will come fully equipped with an operating theatre and other critical diagnostic equipment and some team members to support the local team, and therefore, we are hoping that during the course of this week that St. Elizabeth, and in particular Black River, will have a functional field hospital,” he noted. “This is while we assess what is happening at the original hospital and hopefully that will bring some level of comfort despite all the other challenges that the area faces,” the Minister added. The Ministry is targeting the installation of field hospitals to support facilities in the most severely impacted parishes, with assistance from the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO). In addition to the Black River Hospital, the others are Savanna-la-mar in Westmoreland; Falmouth in Trelawny; Noel Holmes in Hanover; and Cornwall Regional in St. James. Dr. Tufton informed that the Government has already confirmed offers for field hospitals from the Indian, Canadian and Spanish governments. He said that the Ministry continues to work closely with national and international partners to strengthen health system resilience and ensure continuity of care in areas affected by Hurricane Melissa.
