Two city health centres to be renovated

They are two important locations for the provision of basic health services to residents of Belize City and over the next few months the Cleopatra White and Matron Roberts Health Centres will undergo major renovation and expansion. This morning News 5’s Jacqueline Woods was on hand for the signing of the contract.

Jacqueline Woods, Reporting

In August, health care services at two of the city?s major clinics will be temporarily relocated until work to improve conditions at Matron Roberts and Cleopatra White Health Centres is completed.

Dr. Jose Lopez, Director, Central Health Region

?You have to remember that these buildings are thirty or forty years old, and I think that they have outlived their functionality. We now have more population; we have different programmes, so we are in need to bring them up to date.?

According to the Central Health Region?s Director, Dr. Jose Lopez, the old structures were not designed to facilitate the state of art services the Ministry of Health wants to achieve at both establishments.

Dr. Jose Lopez

?You have to think about the new concept now. In 2004, we are now thinking of not just only offering a passive services; in other words we sit there, wait for the patient, take care of him, and he goes. We are now thinking of more an approach of an integrated service, in which we look at the patient from a holistic point of view. These buildings were not designed around that philosophy, so we find ourselves having to renovate them; we find ourselves having to make them bigger; we find ourselves having to create spaces or clinics that we didn?t have before.?

The construction is schedule to last for twelve weeks and will be carried out by Kee-Chanona Limited. Jacqueline Woods for News Five.

Total cost of work on both clinics will be in the neighbourhood of one point three million dollars.