Tobago gets health centre number 17 with new Moriah facility

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Residents of Moriah now have access to a new state of the art health centre. The facility was commissioned yesterday and according to health officials, this new addition strategically places Tobago into a category of being one of the few countries with the most health facilities per capita.

Secretary for Health Wellness and Family Development Tracy Davidson Celestine said this latest addition makes Tobago the envy of the Caribbean and the Western Hemisphere.

“How fortunate we are as a people and when you look at what has been happening with the decentralisation of healthcare services on the island, we can still boast at this point in time that we have the highest number of healthcare facilities per capita in the Western Hemisphere. We have seventeen community health centres dotted in different parts of the district throughout the length and breadth of Tobago.”

Chairman of the board of directors of the TRHA Ingrid Melville congratulated all the key players instrumental in completing the project. She said the TRHA will be responsible for staffing the facility and she used the opportunity to advise staff members to be assigned at the facility.

“A better building does not improve health services. Today we have the infrastructure celebrating the commissioning. I noticed in this week that while there has been a reduction in athletics and other competitive sports batons are being passed in Tobago, we are on the verge of the new journey for health care delivery in Moriah,” she said.

Melville said the role of the TRHA is to apply itself and the scarce resources it manages to ensure that everyone attains the highest level of healthcare. She added this is also the duty of each and every staff member of the TRHA.

Health Secretary Davidson – Celestine said that Moriah Health Centre will resume the provision of normal health centre services, including maternity services, antenatal and post-natal clinics, the management and prevention of chronic disease services, home visits and nutrition services.

She added that additional services will also be introduced; these are adolescent health services and dental services and elderly care services.

According to Davidson Celestine the TRHA intends to convert the Canaan Health Centre into a 24-hour facility which will assist in taking some of the burden off of the Scarborough and Roxborough Hospital and also reduce patient wait time.

The construction of the Moriah Health Centre began in August 2018 and was completed in December 2019 at a total cost of $27 million dollars. The project was managed by the Urban Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago.