The
Ministry of Health is responsible for ensuring the provision of
an adequate, effective and efficient health service for the population
of Jamaica. Services are provided through the government’s
network of twenty-three (23) hospitals and over three hundred and
fifty (350) health centres and specilised institutions.
Over
the past three years, the Ministry has undertaken a comprehensive
rationalisation/re-organisation of the health service. The management
and delivery of health services have been de-centralised to four
statutory regional Health Authorities covering the island. Under
the new status, the Ministry’s two largest programmes: Primary,
and Secondary and Tertiary Health Care have been integrated into
a new programme – Health Service Delivery. It is expected
that regional management will improve the quality of health care
with more efficient use of resources and timely decision-making.
Health
Promotion and Protection is the national strategy to address priority
health problems, for example HIV/STD, hypertension, diabetes, conduct
research and review, and establish surveillance mechanisms to develop
programmes and interventions including co-operation and social marketing
to develop individual and community responsibility for health. This
includes the restructured National Family Planning Board.
Health
Services Planning and Integration, is responsible for providing
technical guidelines to the Regions, facilitating integrated health
care delivery, coordinating, monitoring and evaluating the implementation
of policies and plans for the delivery of health care.
The
services of primary health, and secondary and tertiary care have
been merged to be administered through four regional health authorities.
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South East Regional Health Authority |
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North East Regional Health Authority |
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Western
Regional health Authority |
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Southern
Regional Health Authority |
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South East Regional Health Authority encompasses the parishes of Kingston,
St. Andrew, St. Thomas and St. Catherine. There are 90 health centres
and nine hospitals, five of which are specialist institutions. There
is a bed capacity of 2,755, of which 2,493 are operational. About
1.7 million persons are served by these institutions. The greatest
number is in the 15-49 age group with a growing number of elderly
persons over 65 years.
The Western
Regional Health Authority covers the parishes of Trelawny, St. James,
Hanover and Westmoreland, with 82 health and four hospitals under
its jurisdiction. There is a bed capacity of 611, and a population
of about 0.45 million is served.
The North East
Regional Health Authority serves the parishes of Portland, St. Mary
and St. Ann. There are 82 health centres and four hospitals with
456 beds in this Region. A population of 0.35 million benefits from
these facilities.
The Southern
Regional Health Authority embraces St. Elizabeth, Manchester and
Clarendon, covering 94 health centres and five hospitals with 536
beds. About 0.54 million persons use the facilities.
The
University Hospital of The West Indies (UHWI) is a teaching hospital
with 494 beds, providing services in community health, surgery,
obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, psychiatry and general
services. Government allocations to the UHWI amount to 68 percent
of its operating costs.
National Family Planning Board
The National
Family Planning Board (NFPB) was established in 1973 to deliver
family planning services, and to co-ordinate activities of all related
agencies offering these services. The Board’s objectives are
to:
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Ensure
access to high quality family planning services for those who
wish to use them |
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Develop and improve family life education and clinical services
to adolescents and young adults |
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Promote and sustain large-scale, nationwide information, education
and communication programmes in family planning, population
and family life, using all available channels |
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Ensure and promote the participation of voluntary and private
sector organisations providing family planning services |
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Provide
surgical services for men and women who desire |
Mental Health Service
The
mental health services are delivered through a three-pronged system
consisting of:
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Aresidential hospital – Bellevue Hospital |
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Out-patient community mental health services at primary health
care facilities islandwide |
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Residential
out-patient rehabilitation units – Ken Royes Rehabilitation
Centre |
Registrar General’s Department
The
Registrar General’s Department (RGD) is the agency, which
has responsibility for the registration of all births, deaths, still
births and marriages in Jamaica. In addition, the RGD has responsibility
for the safe keeping of all public records including Resident Magistrates
and Supreme Court Wills, Certificates of Citizenship and Naturalization,
as well as, the Acts of Jamaica.
Its
corporate and main operating location is in Spanish Town. It also
operates from regional offices in Montego Bay, Mandeville and St.
Ann’s Bay and has a network of approximately 380 local district
registrars, 14 civil registrars of marriage and approximately 1,500
marriage officers.
The
RGD became an Executive Agency in 1999, under the Public Sector
Modernisation Programme. This new status allows the RGD to utilised
50 percent of the fees collected from it operations to offset its
expenses.
The
mission of the Department is to support national planning and to
provide evidence of every birth, still birth, death, adoption and
marriage, and provide a secure repository for public records.
In
order to achieve its mission the registrar General’s Department
has identified the following strategic objectives
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Maintain
an islandwide network of registrars and marriage officers to
ensure accurate and timely registration of all births, death,
still births and marriages (vital events) |
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Ensure
that the public is fully informed of registration procedures
to enable them to promptly and properly give notice of all vital
events to effect registration |
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Provide
a central national facility for the effective authentication
and safe keeping of public records so that there is a secure
repository of all data, both live and historic, concerning the
registration and recording of vital events (including adoptions,
divorces, naturalizations and deed polls) |
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On
request, provide access to certified copies of public documents
to customers, in timely fashion, on the payment of the appropriate
fees |
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Provide timely statistics and analysis, categorized according
to international standards, to support demographic planning
by Government |
SUBJECTS/HEALTH
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Adoption
of Children & Act |
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Child
Care and Protection & Act |
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Drug Abuse |
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Experiment
on Animals |
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Family Planning |
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Food
and Drug Control |
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Health
Facilities (Hospitals and Health Centres) |
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Juvenile
Advisory Council |
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Medical
Services |
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Mental
Health Services |
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National
Health Fund |
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National
Registration System |
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Pesticides
Control |
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Professions
Supplementary to Medicine Act |
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Public
Health |
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Registration of Births and Deaths |
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Specialist
Committee on Child Abuse |
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| DEPARTMENTS/HEALTH |
- Child Development Agency
- Adoption Board
- Bellevue Hospital
- Central Board of Health
- Dental Auxiliary School
- Dental Council
- Government Chemist
- Health Centres
- Health Corporation of Jamaica
- Hope Institute
- Medical Appeals Tribunal
- Medical Council
- National Council on Drug Abuse
- National Family Planning Board
- National Health Fund
- Nurses Training Schools
- Nursing Council
- Nursing Home Appeals Tribunal
- Nutrition Advisory Council
- Pesticides Control Authority
- Pharmacy Council
- Professions Supplementary to Medicine Council
- Quarantine Advisory Council
- Regional Health Authorities
- Registrar General’s Department
- Registration Appeal Tribunal (Pharmacy)
- Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre (Mona Rehab.)
- University Hospital of the West Indies
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