Minister of Health, Dr Fenton Ferguson has announced that a new primary health care renewal policy has been approved by Cabinet and will pave the way for significant changes in the current system.

Dr Ferguson was speaking on Friday at the official opening of the Golden Spring health centre in Golden Spring, West Rural St Andrew.

“The Government through Cabinet recently approved a primary health care renewal policy which will see us putting in place a new structure. We are moving to make primary health care attractive to our people because we want to ensure that they go to the primary health care facilities for certain illnesses rather than the hospitals,” Dr Ferguson said.

He pointed out that 117 health centres have been refurbished so far under the primary health care infrastructure renewal programme. He said that another nine are in progress for this financial year which ends March 31.

Dr Ferguson said that the construction of the new Golden Spring Health Centre is a part of the broader plan to make significant improvement to the Primary Health Care structure.

“Since 2012, we have been on a mission to improve access to services to Jamaicans. This is why we have put in place the four primary care Centres of Excellence and have spent more than $600 million on improving primary health care,” the health minister explained.

The Golden Spring Health Centre is now a Type 2 facility that offers services including child health and immunisation, family planning, curative services, health promotion and illness prevention, surveillance and disease control.

The health centre was constructed at a cost of $38.1 million through funding from the Jamaica Social Investment Fund and contribution from the community through the Stock Farm Road Citizens Association.

The CHASE Fund has provided funding for the purchase of the equipment for the facility.