IT could take several more weeks before the collapsed section of the perimeter wall at the Spanish Town Hospital is repaired, the institution’s chief executive officer, David Dobson, said yesterday.

A part of the wall bordering the troubled community of De la Vega City on Port Henderson Road in the old capital, was forced to the ground by Hurricane Dean’s strong winds on August 19.

The resulting gap in the wall, which measures about 80 feet, leaves the institution’s grounds open to all and sundry and vulnerable to intrusion from warring factions in the town.

Yesterday, Dobson told the Observer that the process to effect the necessary repairs was on in earnest but stopped short of blaming bureaucracy for the two-month wait.

“We recognise it as something that needs urgent attention but as you know, it’s not always that easy to have those matters addressed. There is a process, including developing the necessary bill of quantities and the tenders, [which] started quite some time now,” Dobson said.

“The bill of quantities has been done and has been forwarded and I know that the team at the regional office [the South East Regional Health Authority] is in the process of getting that done to have the wall repaired as quickly as possible,” the CEO added.

Yesterday, Dobson didn’t divulge any information regarding the estimated costs to repair the broken wall, which he blamed on faulty construction.

“It’s absolutely clear that the initial construction was not properly done. When you look at it, it’s clear that adequate steel was not in it and so it collapsed,” he said.

He added that water which is chanelled alongside the road had a part to play in the gradual compromise of the structure.

Until the wall is fixed, however, Dobson said, security measures on the hospital grounds have been increased. But some hospital staff, who reside on the compound, say the repairs can’t come soon enough.

“I’m not scared but I’m still concerned. It needs to be fixed,” one nurse, who asked that her name be withheld, told the Observer yesterday.

Meanwhile, Dr D G Girish, who has been working in the Casualty Department at the hospital for a little more than three years, said he too, was concerned. He, however, took some solace in the fact that staff are escorted to their residences after dark.

“I’m very concerned, but the CEO says the wall will be repaired soon and he has put in security guards who escort doctors from casualty to the apartments,” he said.

Dr Carolyn Betty, however, was much less at ease.

“They need to hurry up and fix it. This is a public institution in a problem area like Spanish Town. I don’t know what’s taking so long, it doesn’t take that long to fix a wall,” she argued, adding, “my stepfather could fix this in a day or less.”