The Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), the premier public health care facility in western Jamaica, now has a new ward Pharmacy located on the ninth floor of the hospital.

This facility will provide pharmaceutical service to adults and children on the hospital's medical and paediatric wards.

Senior Administrator at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), Dawn Harvey, in her remarks at the opening ceremony on November 19 said that the pharmacy will enhance the quality of in-patient care at the hospital.

"It will also bring the pharmacist closer to the patient to be able to monitor individual drug therapy," noted Chief Pharmacist, Yvonne Amair,

Chief of Medicine at the hospital, Dr. Curtis Yeates, lauded the establishment of the pharmacy noting that it will help to improve service to patients.

Citing a Ministry of Health survey, which found that patients were unhappy with the length of time they had to wait for service at hospital pharmacies, Dr. Yeates said: "it is the proactiveness and vision within the administration at the CRH, which has led to the establishment of the new pharmacy."

"We already knew (that patients were dissatisfied), and that is why we are opening the new pharmacy, so we are actually ahead of the game," he stated.

He offered congratulations to the pharmacy team for offering excellent service, despite the challenges of increasing patient load and a declining staff complement.