MORANT BAY, St Thomas - The solar water-heating system at the Princess Margaret Hospital in St Thomas, which was damaged by Hurricane Ivan last September, has been rehabilitated and is now back in operation.

Repairs were carried out by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) and the Ministry of Commerce, Science and Technology at a cost of approximately $800,000.

Chief executive officer of the hospital, David Coombs, told JIS News that the system was recently reconnected by the PCJ and all the five wards at the hospital, including the laundry and kitchen, were receiving hot water. Work done to the system included the installation of new cells, re-insulation of the water tank and revamping of connections to the wards.

The solar water-heating system was installed under the government's hospitals energy efficiency project, which is being implemented at four hospitals; the Bustamante, Cornwall Regional, Princess Margaret and St. Ann's Bay.

May 2004, Cabinet approved funds in the amount of $70 million to be used for energy efficiency improvement in these hospitals. Phase ll of the hospitals programme will consist of energy audits and project implementation for the island's 25 public hospitals as well as some private facilities.

Other energy efficiency projects to be undertaken at Princess Margaret comprise the rehabilitation of the central air conditioning system, which serves the operating theatre and the laboratory, the replacement of the steam boiler which supplies steam to the laundry and the sterilisers and improvements to the lighting system. The total cost for all energy projects at the hospital is approximately $4.6 million.

Coombs said funds to purchase the new steam boiler had been approved and installation works would begin shortly by the PCJ.

"It is going to be a 40-horsepower boiler, which is a lot more powerful than the one that we have here. It therefore means that our energy bills will be far less," he said.

According to Coombs, the energy efficiency projects will reduce the hospital's electricity bill by about 26 per cent. In the event of a power outage, he said, the hospital would be able to generate electricity and "be self-sufficient outside of the Jamaica Public Service Company".

Mothers can't father

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'