TWENTY-NINE people who have been described as “long-staying” patients at the Spanish Town Hospital are to be housed at the Spanish Town Infirmary, where a chapel is being developed into a housing facility.

The patients have been discharged from the Spanish Town Hospital, but they have not been claimed by their relatives.

The infrastructural development of the chapel, which is a joint effort of the Ministry of Health and the St Catherine Municipal Corporation, is being funded by the National Health Fund (NHF) to the tune of $4 million.

At a recent handover ceremony at the infirmary, Minister of Health Dr Christopher Tufton explained the significance of the donation.

“It is an initiative that has come to fruition because of the cooperation between agencies and ministries and has the support of all of us,” Tufton is quoted as saying in a release. “We have a lot of work to do, as part of the mental health issue is linked to homelessness because of the perception that if someone is suffering from a mental issue they should be rejected and so they end up on the streets or in hospitals.”

Mental health and homelessness form a problem across the country, which, according to the release, is manifested with many people out on the street. The initiative is a response to provide a more suitable environment for the afflicted people while reducing the burden on the sector, the release continued.

Increasing the capacity of infirmaries to house social cases such as these is important to decrease the number of blocked beds in the public health system, the release said.

Meanwhile, Mayor of Spanish Town Norman Scott has indicated that he is pleased that on completion, the 29 “long-staying” patients in the Spanish Town Hospital will be housed in the refurbished facility at the infirmary.

Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie highlighted that: “This is the second one as we have completed the transformation in Falmouth, where an excellent centre is operating on the grounds of the infirmary and we are hoping that by the end of this calendar year we will roll out another two”.

The release said the donation to the Spanish Town Infirmary forms part of the overall strategy of the Ministry of Health to reduce the number of social cases occupying beds in hospitals. This is reportedly being done through the Task Force on Mental Health and Homelessness that was established in June 2016.

The task force’s job is to make recommendations for improving the mental health services and addressing the needs of the homeless in Jamaica. Part of its mandate is to recommend appropriate housing solutions for people who are homeless and in hospitals or wandering the streets.

The release said the task force’s recent report revealed that there needs to be an increase in the capacity of infirmaries with a view to relocating social cases from hospitals to infirmaries and ensuring adequate numbers of public health nurses for people who require a higher level of care.

In the meantime, Tufton said: “We are happy working with NHF to deliver the resources. We are looking at a number of other locations and collaborating with a number of other agencies in Food For the Poor to develop and expand capacity in several infirmaries across the country.”