Gayle Health Centre closed for renovation
Published:Tuesday | March 2, 2021 | 12:15 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
By the end of July, residents of Gayle and nearby communities who utilise the health centre should soon have a refurbished and upgraded facility as the North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA) undertakes extensive repairs.
Although not disclosing the cost, NERHA said the centre will close from March 1 for five months “to facilitate critical refurbishing works and enhance the quality of care offered to our citizens”.
In the meantime, persons who will need medical services from the centre are being re-directed to the Gayle Civic Centre next door, the Wood Park Health Centre and the Port Maria clinic.
According to NERHA, child health services and food handler’s clinics will be relocated to the Gayle Civic Centre; oral health services can be accessed at the Port Maria dental clinic, while curative, antenatal, dressings, family planning, pap smears, nutrition, mental health and laboratory services will be offered at the Wood Park Health Centre.
The Gayle Health Centre is a Type 3 facility which offers preventive, curative, pharmacy, environmental public health, and laboratory services, catering to over 1,500 persons monthly from areas such as Gayle, Guy’s Hill, Jeffrey Town, Wood Park, Derry, Hunts Town, Retreat and Labyrinth.
While the details of the refurbishing exercise were not disclosed, it is hoped that the renovation will address the issue of equipment shortages at the facility.
In a 2019 interview, parish manager for St Mary Health Services, Sherrie Ellis-Wallace, disclosed that while the health centre was managing with the available resources, there was need for several pieces of equipment including an electrocardiogram machine, examination beds, air condition units, autoclave machine, additional seating capacity and an ambulance, among other things.