The South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) is a statutory body of the Ministry of Health. SERHA is one of four Regional Health Authorities formed as a part of the Health Sector reform, by passage of the National Health Services Act in 1997.
SERHA is responsible for the delivery of health care services to the residents of St. Catherine, St. Thomas, Kingston and St. Andrew. This represents 47% of the population of Jamaica. SERHA is managed by a team of directors ably led by the Regional Director who reports to a Board, which is appointed by the Minister of Health. The region is funded by allocations from the Ministry of Health and fees collected at its institutions.
Health Care is delivered through a network of 10 hospitals and 89 Health Centres. Five of the ten hospitals within the region are also specialist or National Referral Hospitals. Some of these institutions also accept patients referred from other Caribbean islands. SERHA employs approximately 6000 individuals from a variety of medical and non-medical groups. To achieve its mandate, the staff and the Board of the SERHA must ensure there is robust corporate governance. Let’s see how they are doing!!