The recently-commissioned Ann-Victoria “Tota” Smith Polyclinic at Welches, is to play a greater role in the island’s health services following the establishment of the Anguilla Health Authority.

Chief Executive Officer of the autonomous body, Dexter James, said that while a lot of time was being spent looking at secondary health-care services, the focus should always be on primary care. “Our intention is to begin to expand the range of services at the Welches Polytechnic initially,” he told the media. “We have already begun taking steps to relocate our physio-therapy services. We will recruit a family-physician who will be at the facility between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. so that we could decompress the number of primary care cases that come to the hospital in the Valley.”

He stated that the polyclinic, which would also have dispensing capabilities, would have dental chair for that service and that school health programmes would form part of the services as well. “By strengthening that facility, we hope that people in the area would use the services provided,” he said.

“This is the first step towards the reorganisation and expansion of our primary care services,” Mr. James continued. “Once we have that pilot [project] up and running, our next target will be to look at the Valley Health Centre. The effort is to create an expanded access to primary medical care and therefore reduce the burden at the hospital for basic primary medical intervention and service delivery.”

| Printer-friendly page | Send this article to a friend |

World News