Work to begin on Western Children’s Hospital next month
Other medical facilities set for major upgrades
Published:Wednesday | May 4, 2022 | 12:14 AM
Work on the 250-bed Western Children and Adolescent Hospital in Montego Bay, St James, is set to begin next month following delays blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton told his parliamentary colleagues that the Chinese Embassy in Kingston has assured him that work on the facility would begin in June.
He said that the hospital is estimated to cost $5 billion and that the Government has allocated $100 million to “ensure that there is access to water, road, and electricity”.
The project is being funded by the governments of Jamaica and the People’s Republic of China.
At the same time, the tender for the Spanish Town Hospital is to be made public this month.
Tufton said that a contractor is expected to be engaged by the end of this year and work should start either late this year or in early 2023.
“This investment in Spanish Town will be one of the largest investments that will be made in health facilities in the history of this country.”
As part of the multimillion-dollar project, an accident and emergency wing with ambulatory and ambulance bay will be constructed as well as a triage and consulting rooms, patient wards, a lounge, and lunch areas, among other facilities.
A radiology, pharmacy and outpatient departments will also be constructed, in addition to surgical floor and patient wards, a basement area that includes staff parking and a sky bridge to create a link with the existing administration and dietary block.
Tufton also said the Government will this year begin the most significant infrastructure expansion of the University Hospital of the West Indies in 50 years.
“This year, we have allocated resources to relocate the ring road and to clear the spot where the construction will begin and, hopefully, over that time, the designs would have been completed so we can break ground next year,” he said.
Providing an update on the rehabilitation of the Cornwall Regional Hospital, Tufton reported that Phase 1 and 2A have been completed at a cost of $1.3 billion and Phase 2B has started with a price tag of $1.7 billion. This part of the work is intended to repair structural defects that were present in the building.
He said that the Cabinet has approved the use of a design-and-build modality for the implementation of the final phase, which will see the restoration of the hospital.
The ministry has contracted a US-based commissioning agent firm that has been supporting the project management unit to ensure value for money and timely delivery of the project.
“I am prepared to say that for the first time, over the last four months, I am comfortable that Cornwall is on a good track to be rehabilitated and to be restored the way it ought to be,” he said.