The momentous occasion was highlighted during a ceremony held at the hospital earlier today (Tuesday, July 31). That ceremony was attended by members of the Team Unity Cabinet including Prime Minister, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris; Deputy Prime Minister, the Honourable Shawn Richards; Senior Minister, the Honourable Vance Amory; Minister of Health, the Honourable Eugene Hamilton and Minister of State in the Ministry of Health, the Honourable Wendy Phipps, as well as representatives of the medical and nursing fraternity and residents of Molineux and the neighbouring communities who will benefit from the services.
The re-commissioning of the Dental Clinic and re-establishment of ambulance service come two years after the official reopening of a completely renovated Mary Charles Hospital, and fall in line with the goals and objectives of the government’s Strategic Plan for Health 2017-2021.
In delivering the featured address at Tuesday’s ceremony, Prime Minister Harris noted that the reintroduction of the EMT/ambulance services, in particular, would significantly reduce the response time for potentially lifesaving emergency services.
“In many cases of illness, the survivability rate is dependent in large measure on how quickly you get to a good doctor,” the prime minister said. “Your Team Unity Government has brought this EMT/Ambulance Service to fruition, knowing that a quicker ambulance response time is a life-and-death matter and knowing that it can further improve upon our Federation’s relatively high life expectancy rate, which I am advised, now stands at 76 years.
The EMT/ambulance service at the Mary Charles Hospital will be dispatched to cover emergencies within the areas of Canada Estate to Parsons Village.
Furthermore, the honourable prime minister stated that the new dental unit at the Mary Charles Hospital expands upon the Ministry of Health’s oral health programme by bringing oral health screening and treatment services to the people.
Dr. Harris added, “This dental unit is expected to fulfill the strategic objectives in relation to oral healthcare such as reducing the local incidence of dental missing and filled teeth (DMFT) from 50 percent to 30 percent among those five to 15 years age group. Today, my Team Unity Government sends the message that we want tooth loss to be eliminated in this generation.”
Dental services at the reopened clinic will be free of cost to school children, including those up to 18 years old and who are still in school, persons living with disabilities, and individuals over the age of 62.
