Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer has appealed for the support of healthcare professionals to successfully undertake transformative work in the health sector. “The Government alone cannot accomplish the goals of broadening access to health care in a sustainable way. Our health care professionals must understand that there is more at stake than preserving status quo.  No nation can grow and develop if its citizens do not have access to quality health care.  A sick nation is a poor nation.  There is a lot to be done to move the country forward.  We rely on our staff on the frontline to give of their best,” he said.

Chairman of the Southeast Regional Health Authority, Lyttleton Shirley, has said that the Region and the Ministry of Health should soon be receiving a draft Memorandum of Understanding from the Chain of Hope UK and its affiliate stake holders - Caribbean Heart Menders Association, Rotary International, Rotary Club of Down Town Kingston, Congenital Heart Institute of Florida, Cardiac Kids Foundation and the Gift of Life International.

Several health facilities across the island are still experiencing higher than normal levels of absenteeism by Registered Nurses. Some of the health facilities affected are: Kingston Public Hospital, Bustamante Hospital for Children, National Chest Hospital, Mandeville Regional Hospital, May Pen Hospital, Lionel Town Hospital, Annotto Bay Hospital, Port Maria Hospital, Falmouth Hospital, Mandeville Comprehensive Clinic and Newport Health Centre.  

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer today (Wednesday, March 03, 2010) met with members of the Pharmaceutical Society of Jamaica led by their president and a representative of their affiliate union. The group requested a meeting with the Minister to discuss elements of the job reclassification report for the exercise being conducted across the public health sector.