by Eulana Weekes
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The Charlestown Dental Unit and Health Center will be relocated temporarily to the Ward’s Building on the Island’s Main Road, next to Island Tyres and Hardware, according to a statement from the Nevis Health Promotion Unit.
Work has commenced at the temporary facility and is expected to house state of the art dental equipment and the usual daily services offered by the Health Center. The work is expected to be completed at the end of August 2023, and the date of transfer will be communicated to the public.
Meanwhile, Jahnel Nisbett – Junior Minister of Health, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health – Shelisa Martin-Clarke, Sylvester Browne – Supervisor of Public Health Maintenance Team and Fernando Nunez – Biomedical Engineer with the Ministry of Health, had a walk-through of the temporary facility to assess the ongoing upgrades that are taking place there.
The relocation of the Charlestown Health Center and Dental Unit is to facilitate the improvement and upgrades of the existing compound at Chapel Street.
During the 2020 Budget Debate, former Junior Minister of Health in the Nevis Island Administration Hazel Brandy – Williams unveiled the projects that the Ministry of Health would undertake, which included an upgraded facility to house the Charlestown Health Center and Dental Unit. She also mentioned that there was money budgeted for the facility. However, the specific amount is unclear.
Meanwhile, it is stated on page 23 of the 2023 Budget Estimates that $500,000 was budgeted from revenue for improving health facilities on the island of Nevis, excluding the Alexandra Hospital, which has its own budget allocation.
The Ministry of Health, Gender Affairs, Social and Community Development was allocated $49.4 million, representing 18.88 per cent of the Nevis Island Administration’s total budget for 2023.
