Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says Jamaicans living along the island’s north coast will soon begin to benefit from significantly improved healthcare services as restoration work on Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) nears completion and the new Western Child and Adolescent Hospital is almost ready to open.

According to Tufton, who was speaking at the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference in Montego Bay, St James, this week, the developments will transform healthcare delivery in western Jamaica by providing modern facilities, expanded capacity and specialised services for children and adolescents.

"We are embarking on the largest expansion of health infrastructure since Independence. If you take this parish of St James, in another six months, between Western Child and Adolescent and Cornwall Regional, we expect both to be open," he said.