Health minister expresses regret at delay in reopening of CRH
Published:Wednesday | June 11, 2025 | 12:11 AM
Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has expressed regret about the inconvenience caused to Jamaicans by the delay in the reopening of the new Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH).
“I am, indeed, sorry that a solution could not have been found earlier,” Tufton said in his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Tuesday.
However, the senior Cabinet minister rejected any notion that the extended time to reopen the hospital was either deliberate or based on anything untoward.
“All efforts were made to do the right thing and today we are doing the right thing. I also reject the mischief that this price tag is based on cost overruns,” he added.
“Could we have done it differently? Perhaps, but only if we had perfect information at the start,” he said.
Dismissing claims by the parliamentary opposition that more than $20 billion has already been spent on Cornwall Regional, Tufton said a price tag of $23 billion has been set but to date only $9.4 billion has been spent.
“The much talked about $23-billion price tag is a projection, we are not there yet. Their narrative is dishonest as they are criticising what is not yet spent!”
In January 2021, Tufton dismissed a claim by the then opposition spokesman on health, Dr Morais Guy, that the restoration of the CRH in Montego Bay will cost as much as $12 billion.
Responding at the time, Tufton said: “I am not sure where my parliamentary colleague would have gotten that figure, as that is not the figure I have been working with or that I have been informed of.”
“It is far in excess of what my information is [for CRH’s restoration], but I am happy to speak to him and hear exactly how he came by that calculation.”
PASSING THE BLAME
Yesterday, Tufton blamed the People’s National Party for “neglecting” the problems that existed at the facility which led to serious deterioration and now is being fixed by the current administration.
He said the Government had to respond to the crisis of collapse by building out a set of infrastructure to serve patients, while shutting down the main building for repairs. According to Tufton, renovation activities had to be suspended for three years to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This idea that the services at CRH have not continued is also a big lie and an insult to the men and women who have worked hard to preserve health and save many lives each day,” he said.
Over the six years of the CRH main building closure, Tufton said the hospital has performed creditably, owing to the work of the staff who managed the facility.