MORE than $100 million is to be spent for the renovation and expansion of the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department at the Linstead Hospital in St Catherine.

Of the sum, $76.4 million, for which a contract was signed Tuesday, will be spent to renovate and expand specific areas, while the remainder of the funds will go toward equipping and installing a heating ventilation and air conditioning system in the department.

The renovation works will result in the addition of a waiting area, parking area, nebulisation station, examination bays and triage area for the A&E Department.

Also included will be the realignment of the ambulance bay; work on the ceilings, walls and floors; installation of doors and windows; plumbing installation; air conditioning installation; electrical installation; roofing; installation of public address system; fittings; landscaping; fencing; and drainage installation.

Speaking at the contract signing ceremony Tuesday at the Office of the Prime Minister, Health Minister Fenton Ferguson said the Linstead project and other developments in the health sector are part of the Government’s commitment to reduce the misery index for clients and increase the comfort level of staff at all facilities.

“Our efforts are in keeping with our goal to build a health sector that can adequately serve the needs of our population, so that we can achieve our national development objective of a healthy and stable population by 2030,” he said.

The minister said that developmental work, which started in May this year at the hospital, is 40 per cent complete and would cost $21.6 million. He added that an X-ray unit was put in place at a cost of $24 million, including installation.

Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change Robert Pickersgill, in whose North West St Catherine constituency the hospital is located, said the development at the hospital was needed and should assist in enabling the facility to be better able to respond to accidents, as well as other types of emergencies.

The Linstead Hospital is a major referral centre for Spanish Town, Kingston Public, National Chest hospitals and the Bustamante Hospital for Children. The Type C facility sees about 30,000 patients annually.

The contract for the project was signed with Chin’s Construction Limited. The projects are being funded by the National Health Fund (NHF).