CRH back to pre-Melissa functionality, says Fray
Published:Tuesday | February 10, 2026 | 12:12 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Dr Delroy Fray, the clinical coordinator at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St James, says some sections of the facility have been restored to pre-Hurricane Melissa functionality following repairs.
Fray’s pronouncement comes on the heels of another announcement that the Mount Salem-based hospital is set to be the recipient of a 100-bed medical dome, which is intended to ease the patient load on the western region’s only Type A hospital.
In an interview with The Gleaner on Monday, Fray said three out of four wards targeted for housing patients have been restored. The medical dome, which is set to arrive at the end of February, is expected to provide supplementary bed spaces.
“The places that we are awaiting at the back of the hospital to put our patients, the refurbished areas, we finished three out of four of those areas. In fact, the workers need to do some detailed work on the delivery area, but the rest of the targeted areas – Block C, Seven East and Seven West – all of those are re-established,” said Fray.
“Before Hurricane Melissa, we used to have about 40 to 50 patients waiting in the accident and emergency area (A&E) to be admitted, and after Melissa, it went up to between 75 to 80 because our bed spaces moved from 350 to 176,” he explained. “When I checked on Sunday, the number of patients waiting in A&E was 55, and the number going onto the ward had gone up, so we are almost back to how we were pre-Melissa.”
Last month, doctors and nurses staged a protest at the CRH over overcrowding in the A&E Department and poor working conditions. At the time, it was reported that there were over 300 patients at the hospital, with 88 of them waiting for beds in the A&E Department.
The hospital was extensively damaged during the passage of the Category 5 hurricane, which impacted Jamaica on October 28 last year. Half of the hospital’s ward space was damaged, resulting in significant dislocation.
Following last month’s protest action by doctors and nurses at the CRH, Dr Curtis Yeates, the hospital’s senior medical officer of health, gave an assurance that more bed spaces would be made available within a two- to three-week period.
Fray also expressed hope that the CRH’s ongoing multibillion-dollar restoration, which was initially sparked by a noxious fumes issue in late 2017, will eliminate patients’ lengthy waiting times for bed spaces. September is beng targeted for a complete restoration.
“By the time we move into the new hospital, which I hope it will be some time this year, we should not be having those long waiting periods in the A&E Department. That is what we are trying to decrease or eliminate, and we are working to decrease it even more with the medical dome when it comes,” said Fray.
The medical dome, which covers 10,000 square feet of space and is designed to withstand Category 4 hurricanes, is being permanently donated through an international humanitarian coalition led by Judah One and Kennedy International Logistics and Services. The dome will come equipped with hospital beds, mattresses, X-ray systems, and other medical equipment provided at no cost to the Government of Jamaica.