COVID-19 stalls construction at western children’s hospital

WESTERN BUREAU:

The timeline for completion of the long-awaited Western Children and Adolescents Hospital in St James may be significantly pushed back from its projected May 2021 deadline, as work has stalled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, restricting the provision of manpower, equipment and building materials from China.

In providing an update on Thursday about the hospital’s construction, Errol Greene, the regional director of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), told The Gleaner that, although the facility’s foundation is now complete, work at the site has stalled because of the effects of COVID-19, which has recorded morethan eight million infections and 434,000 deaths worldwide.

Logistic challenges

“The progress update on that project is that the work has stalled somewhat because the contractor is having a challenge getting personnel, equipment, and materials out of China because of COVID-19. As soon as that situation clears up, then I expect that we will pick up the work again,” said Greene.

“I was talking to the project manager Wednesday, and I understand they would have already been far ahead in the work because the foundation has been done, but now there’s nothing for them to do, and they can’t do any work without materials and equipment,” the WRHA boss added.

Greene said he could not propose when a possible new timeline might be set for completion of the seven-floor 220-bed facility, which is being built on the grounds of the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Mt Salem.

“I couldn’t say at this time how long the work would be pushed back … if they start back, then we could say, but we don’t know when the workers are going to get here from China. I don’t know if they will make up the time, but, as of right now, that is the issue they face,” said Greene.

On October 23 last year, ground was broken for the Western Children and Adolescents Hospital, the construction of which is being funded by the Chinese government. It is to benefit from a $3.9 billion allocation for the improvement of several health facilities across the country, according to the Jamaican Government’s fiscal policy paper for the 2020/21 financial year.

On completion, the hospital will have an in-house pharmacy, an emergency room, and a dialysis room, plus administrative offices, a food court, and accommodation for employees.

The facility is intended to complement the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, providing increased access to specialised paediatric and adolescent care.