Spanish Town Hospital upgrade nears groundbreaking phase – Tufton

MINISTER OF Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton says following years of negotiations for funding, they are now closer to begin redeveloping the Spanish Town Hospital into a six-storey, state-of-the-art complex.

“I am happy to report that today, we are closer than ever in terms of breaking ground for that facility,” Tufton revealed. “But it has several implications. For starters, there are some services that are being offered that must be relocated.

“This has come after years of work involving negotiations for a loan with the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union, and the Government of Jamaica,” Tufton told reporters yesterday.

The minister was inspecting a new container-retrofitted facility on the grounds of the hospital that will house some vital services while construction is taking place. The upgrade, Tufton stated, falls within the Government’s plan to build a modern, state-of-the-art facility in St Catherine, amid efforts to overhaul the country’s health system under its 10-year strategic plan.

Accompanied by representatives from the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) and the Spanish Town Hospital’s management team, Tufton toured the newly retrofitted facility that was built and repurposed to replace existing facilities on the grounds of the hospital. That will clear the way for the start of the construction of the six-storey complex.

Facility’s size to double

With waiting areas, testing areas, and designated spaces for medication collection and storage, the facility’s size is set to be double what it was in the past to facilitate the growing need for advanced healthcare solutions in the area.

The larger outpatient area will now have the capacity to accommodate more than the 15,000 patients currently seen monthly, and also more than the 2,000 tests carried out daily.

Tufton further expressed a clear intention to prioritise patient and staff comfort, saying it would be outfitted with the newest lab machines and modern amenities.

With construction of the new six-storey hospital complex expected to get under way in the next two months, the minister said that a lot has been learnt from the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) experience, generally from construction, refurbishing and renovation of healthcare infrastructure.

“We must admit that some of these buildings are outdated and have long required renewal, some of them being around from the colonial days and have not kept up with modernisation, equipment, and infrastructure,” Tufton said.

The health and wellness minister hinted that there would be no budget overruns for the complex because it will be erected from the ground up, unlike the CRH, where renovation and refurbishing is taking place.

He revealed that the CRH is in the final phase of completion, and there could be a phased reopening early next year.

ruddy.mathison@gleanerjm.com