THE ST JOHN POLYCLINIC will be open for business before year end.
And, according to Minister of Health Donville Inniss, when completed, the facility will be the jewel in the crown of this country’s polyclinic system.
Inniss made this disclosure in the House of Assembly yesterday during debate on a resolution through which Government sought an additional $4 million to ensure the project’s completion.
Inniss reported that the facility’s construction would be completed in October, after which relevant equipment would be purchased and the clinic would open before the end of the calendar year.
The minister said the polyclinic would immediately ease the pressure currently placed on polyclinics at Six Roads in St Philip and Warrens, St Michael.
“ . . . In fact, this new polyclinic will have a positive impact on the entire health care system,” Inniss told the Lower House.
“Our goal is to spread the weight of health care more evenly across Barbados. The pressure on staff in the system will also be eased,” Inniss promised.
He said that making sure the project was completed after being ignored for 14 years by the previous Government was the practical and sustainable thing to do.
“When this project is finished, there is no doubt patient care will improve and there will be shorter waiting periods and quicker turnaround time for patients,” the minister added.
The new facility will play a role in decentralizing the country’s ambulance service, with a team based there to deal with emergencies in the eastern parts of Barbados.
In addition, the new polyclinic will cater to mental health, welfare, preventative health, HIV and AIDS, ophthalmology and dental care.
The building will also house a library and the offices of the St John Constituency Council.
The minister said Government would also be increasing mental health care by instituting posts across the polyclinic system in an effort to ease pressure on the Psychiatric Hospital. (BA)
