HSA rolls out new services and new clinics

(CNS): The Health Services Authority (HSA) has opened a new George Town General Practice (GP) and Public Health Clinics at the Smith Road Medical Centre as part of its overall plans to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare. The clinics open officially on Monday for booked appointments only.

A new Urgent Care Walk-In Clinic will be opened for patients without appointments in the atrium of the main hospital campus, which will also provide flu and COVID services.

A release from the HSA said this urgent care clinic will provide an enhanced setting and improve access to care and ease the demand on the Accident & Emergency Unit for non-emergent illnesses and injuries, including mild sprains and cuts.

The new Smith Road Centre location provides more space and is purpose-designed to meet the needs of the “HSA’s growing and sophisticated patient base who require more services and a better patient experience”, the release said.

An additional Phlebotomy Laboratory will be located at the clinic so patients can have ease of access to the service should any blood tests be required. Public Health services including immunizations, child health screenings, general health assessments, health education and blood work will also be on offer at the new centre.

Speaking about the expansion of the hospital into Smith Road and the growth in service provision at a press meeting this week, HSA Chief Executive Officer Lizzette Yearwood said, “We aim to provide a one-stop convenient operation for our patients with access to outpatient and support services in this single facility.”

The new Smith Road Campus is only one area of growth for the HSA as many other new or expanded provision is being rolled out. “We are taking action to move healthcare management closer to residents within their communities,” she said.

One of those is the new dialysis service at a new unit at the West Bay District Health Centre where two chairs are set to open in the next few weeks.

“The dialysis patient population continues to grow,” Yearwood said. “In 1998 there were 10 dialysis patients in the Cayman Islands. Currently, there are 65 patients receiving dialysis in Grand Cayman and three in the Brac. Diabetes and hypertension are the major drivers of chronic kidney disease. This expansion of our Dialysis Service provides additional capacity for the HSA and the country, since we operate the only dialysis centre in the Cayman Islands.”

Meanwhile, with the Public Health Clinic moving from the Women’s Health Building to the Smith Road Medical Centre, Yearwood said that the Paediatric Outpatient Department will now move into that space, creating a Women and Child Health Department under one roof, which will also house a Paediatric Urgent Care Clinic.

“This will allow children to be separated from the adult A&E. They will be able to be in their own space and seen by dedicated physicians,” she explained, adding it was expected to open in June.

Work on the adolescent Mental Health Hub will also begin shortly following the general practice clinic’s move, which will provide the space needed for this new service. A joint project with the Alex Panton Foundation and the Ministry of Health, the work will include demolition, painting and room partitioning. The estimated date of completion is July 2022.

The Flu Hotline (1 800 534 8600) is being transformed into a broad information line and will be expanding to a 24-hour service that assists people with flu-like symptoms as well as providing guidance on COVID regulations, testing, isolation and quarantine, vaccinations and general information on HSA and Public Health-related services.