Dominica: Belles’ Health Centre set to undergo major expansion

Roseau, Dominica: The Belles’ Health Centre is all set to undergo major expansion and transformation to provide enhanced services and meet the primary health care needs of the community. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Dr Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica who made a visit to the site and explained the progress of the project.

Speaking with the residents of the community, PM Dr Skerrit said that the four areas such as the housing, the road, the health centre and the community development are the major focus areas for the government. He added that the healthcare centre will be the central pillar of the government’s development strategy.

Shedding light on the progress of the project, he outlined that the assessments have taken place to analyse the criteria of the construction as they are assessing the estimated funding for the expansion of the centre.

PM Skerrit also emphasized that the main aim of the expansion is to place services close to vulnerable residents. He outlined that the government has been working to apppoint more people who will be available for the services in the close proximity of the vulnerable areas so that the health facilities could become easily accessible for poor families.

The services such as medical vans and other basic treatment facilities will be available in the health centre after its expansion. Darron Lloyd, the Parliamentary Representative also talked about the benefits of the project during the site visit and noted that this will benefit the whole community as a whole.

He said that the expansion will resolve the issues that are being faced by the people of the community and once it gets completed, every single resident will benefit from the result.

Notably, Health Minister Cassanni Laville outlined an ambitious plan for the health care sector. He added that the government is aimed to double the number of monthly doctor’s clinics as currently the doctor comes once per month and the discussion has been undergoing that the doctor will come twice monthly in the second and fourth week.

The health centre is strategically located between Marigot and Roseau and the facility becomes essential not just to Belles, but to national emergency planning. The status of design and construction is also under preparation as the feedback of the community has been received for the project.

The project falls under the government of Dominica’s broader vision for primary healthcare which has seen the construction and refurbishment of numerous health and wellness centres across the island. The full upgrade of the Dominica-China Friendship Hospital and the new Marigot Hospital have been added into the construction. 

As per the updates, the construction and mobilization are expected to begin shortly after the final revision of designs. As part of a lagrer government strategy, the project will provide timely access to essential healthcare services within 10 to 15 minutes of their homes.