SDA Church remains committed to struggling CRH

WESTERN BUREAU:

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says the leadership of the West Jamaica Conference (WJC) of Seventh-day Adventist Church has given a commitment for the continued use of their conference facility as a clinic to host displaced services from the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH).

Speaking with reporters during a recent tour of the Mt Salem-based hospital, which is now undergoing a multimillion-dollar restoration exercise, Tufton said the outreach arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has provided tremendous assistance to the Government, the people of St James, and western Jamaica in a time of need.

“We have discussed a few logistic issues in terms of timelines and some of the other issues that are necessary to ensure that the work continues on the ground,” said Tufton, in providing details of a meeting he had with members of the SDA Church. “I am very satisfied that we had those discussions (and) that there is a commitment to continue to assist ... to continue to work with the clinical team.”

Since 2017, the WJC has been offering its conference centre to house several displaced departments from the CRH following the closure of the building because of noxious fumes that emanated from the central ventilation system. The hospital’s restoration was originally scheduled for completion in December 2020, but the work has been stalled because of the repeated variations in the scope of work, which has resulted in a substantial cost overrun.

“That discussion was good, we expressed our thanks as a government, and also as the Western Regional Health Authority and as a hospital. It’s about a commitment to cooperate, to work with the hospital and the people,” explained Tufton.

Meanwhile, on January 20, the Cabinet approved the variation of two contractors in aspects of the rehabilitation works at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, which will now cost the Government approximately $180 million more than it had initially projected.

Information Minister Fayval Williams said the ventilation contract has been revised upwards, from over $512 million to over $661 million to Ariel Limited

The contract to demolish and rebuild the seventh, eighth and ninth floors of the 400-bed Type A hospital, which falls under phase two of the rehabilitation project, has been revised up from over $80 million to $112 million. That project is being undertaken by DT Brown Construction and Farm Pan Caribbean JV.