The Ministry of Health might acquire a mobile unit as part of efforts to improve the delivery of health care across the island, with particular emphasis on oral health.

People who may not be able to visit the various health facilities will be targeted.

Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson disclosed this during a planning and evaluation meeting of the Oral Health Services Unit, at Alhambra Inn, Kingston, recently.

"As part of the oral health development, we are considering, during this new financial year ... a mobile unit, to become a part of the whole health care delivery system, especially in our underserved areas," the minister said. "There are some areas where it is very difficult for persons to come out, because of the terrain ... so we want to be in a position where we can move the service in."

The minister emphasised that oral health plays a critical role in the overall health of individuals, saying people oftentimes pay less attention to this.

While oral health primarily refers to dental health, it also means being free of chronic oral-facial pain conditions, oral and throat cancers, oral soft tissue lesions, birth defects and scores of other diseases and disorders that affect the oral, dental, and craniofacial tissues.