The opening of the Cornwall Regional Hospital was a proud occasion for David Coore. He shared that it was the biggest investment made by the Jamaican Gvernment. The new facility aligns with the plan to provide universal healthcare to citizens as there will also be the training of health aides and other medical personnel.

Published Saturday, May 11, 1974

Coore at official opening: CORNWALL REGIONAL HOSPITAL WILL COST $5m A YEAR IN UPKEEP

Gleaner Western Bureau

THE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. David Coore, has said that the $17 million 400-bed Cornwall Regional Hospital provided a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction not only to the Governmen.t but also to the people of Cornwall.

He was giving the main address at the formal opening of the multidiscipline hospital on its 28-acre site at Mount Salem, Montego Bay, yesterday evening.

Mr Coore said that the idea for such a hospital went back to 1961 but did not go beyond the conceptual stage until the present site was acquired by former Health Minister, Dr Herbert Eldemire, in 1963.  Paying tribute to Dr Eldemire, the Deputy Prime Minister said that his role in the initial fulfillment of the possibilities entitled him to a very special place in the annals of the hospital.  In dedicated staff and grateful patients there would be a more lasting testimonial to Dr Eldemire than any plaque put up in the hospital, Mr Coore said:

“Giving an outline of the cost of erecting the hospital. Mr Coore said the original estimate was $7 million and with equipment, $12 million.  However, this sum escalated to over $17 million fully equipped.  This was the biggest single investment ever made by the Jamaican Government”

This was only the beginning, Mr Coore pointed out, as recurrent expenditure would be in excess of $5 million annually roughly one-eighth of the total recurrent budget of the Ministry of Health for the entire island.  There was, therefore, a heavy responsibility in the administration of the total, but Mr Coore said that he felt that the valuable contribution in health service in the people would be commensurate with the expenditure.

Mr Coore said that there was little or no likelihood, in the near future of hospitals of this size and complexity being constructed without even taking into account the difficulties that would be faced in staffing such an institution.  He pointed out, however, that this did not meanhat  the rest of the island would be denied adequate healthcare because the Government was committed to providing such care.

Extensions

Expenditure this year of $2.5 million was earmarked for extensions to various hospitals on the island, but there was obviously a severe limit to what could be done in the erection of hospitals like the CRH.  There was a challenge to be faced in providing good healthcare at a reasonable cost ,bearing in mind the cost of training staff.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasizsed the new development in providing universal health care and which required the cooperation of the medical profession.  He said that 600 community health aides would be trained and put into the fields this year coupled with the training of practical nurses, assistant nurses, and para-medical personnel.

Concluding, Mr Coore said that the CRH should be seen as one element in comprehensive medical care for the whole country.

The Minister of Health, Hon. Dr Kenneth McNeill, outlined the facilities available at the hospital and the discipline involved.  Other speakers included the Leader of the Opposition, Rt. Hon. Hugh Shearer; the Minister of Education, Hon. Howard Cooke; the Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Charles Sinclair; and the hospital Administrator, Mr Frank Duncanson.  Presiding at the function was the chairman of the Montego Bay Region of the Hospital Management Board, Mr E.A. Barrett.

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