Health service delivery in primary care centres will be improved and expanded with the addition of more than 100 doctors to those facilities within the public health system.
The announcement was made by Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton during Tuesday’s (October 10) sitting of Parliament.
The figure is part of 727 new physician posts being made available in the public health system and signifies an estimated 40% increase in the complement of junior doctors in primary health care. Currently, just over 300 junior doctors are employed in the island’s primary care facilities.
“Madam Speaker, this represents the largest investment in human resource in the physician workforce in the last four to five decades. With these additional posts, the Ministry will now move to properly staff the different services provided in the Comprehensive, District and Community Health Centres, as well as our Type C, Type B, the Regional Hospitals and our Type A reference hospitals,” the Minister disclosed.
The move is in line with the Ministry’s primary healthcare reform which seeks to strengthen and transform the organisation of primary care to meet the needs of the population.
The renewed primary care will see the burden of service delivery shifting from hospitals to community health centres. This as part of the Ministry’s strategic goal of transforming health centres to effectively serve as the gateway to modern health services so that members of the public access care closer to their communities.
The rationalisation of services will lead to improved access to healthcare providers, longer opening hours, and more preventive as well as curative services.
Through a phased execution, the Ministry will on Sunday, October 15 begin publicising new job posts created for all hospitals and primary care centres within the public health system.