The Spanish Town Hospital (STH) in St. Catherine, which has been providing quality healthcare for residents of the parish and sections of Clarendon and Kingston and St. Andrew over the last 70 years, was graced by royalty, with the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince and Kate William on March 23, 2022 to commemorate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen.
The present hospital is located on what was once called St. Jago Park sugar cane and banana plantation. The St. Jago Great House was the residence of the then plantation owner and his now occupied by the St. Jago Park Health Centre. The hospital was declared opened for service by His Excellency Sir Hugh Foot, K.C.M.G., O.B.E on June 18, 1952 in the same year Her Majesty the Queen ascended the throne. It is the largest Type B Hospital in the island, with a constant development of new housing. The original bed count was 277 beds, which has grown to 430 in the past 7 decades. The hospital serves the second most populous of 518,345. In 1960, St Catherine accounted for nine percent (9%) of the population but in 2011, this proportion had more than doubled to nineteen percent (19%). Between 2001 and 2011, St Catherine was the fastest-growing parish in the country, doubling the national population growth rate of 0.36 %. Several activities are planned to mark the milestone, which include a church service on Saturday, June 18, 2022 starting at 11:00 am at the Family of God Seventh Day Adventist Church, Brunswick Avenue, Spanish Town. Other activities to be held on the hospital compound, include a staff recognition ceremony on Monday, June 20, 2022 at 10:00 am, a music in the garden function on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 and a Grand Jubilee staff activity on Friday, June 24, 2022 at 10:00 am. There will also be a blood drive on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 starting 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at the phlebotomy container at old Commissary near the pharmacy on the hospital compound.
