In the aftermath of Hurricane Dean, the public health services in western Jamaica are returning to normality.

A statement yesterday from the Regional Director of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), Dr. Alexander Konstantinov, said an assessment has so far revealed that with the exception of minor damages to two hospitals and a number of health centres, the regional services have been left intact.

As of yesterday morning, health services in St. James, including the Cornwall Regional Hospital, and Westmoreland have been fully restored. Out-patients whose appointments were affected by the scaling down of services during the passage of Hurricane Dean should contact their respective hospitals for new appointments.

In Trelawny and Hanover, primary care services are 95 per cent restored. However, there will be some curtailment of hospital services at the Falmouth and Noel Holmes hospitals because of damage. Falmouth Hospital has suffered damage to its kitchen and linen room while Noel Holmes suffered minor damage to its accident and emergency department.

Alternative arrangements

The WRHA maintenance team expects the damage to be corrected by early next week and it is expected tha arrangements will be made to expedite a full resumption of service at these institutions.

While only the Cornwall Regional Hospital has so far had restoration of public electricity, all the hospitals have standby plants to maintain essential services. Water is also available at all hospitals and health centres.