ST JAMES, Jamaica — Health Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, says rehabilitation work on the main building at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St James, is progressing well and is on course for completion by the end of the year.

The Independent Oversight Committee appointed by Tufton to oversee the ongoing restoration at the Type A facility said last month that the work is scheduled to be completed by November 2019.

“I think we are working according to schedule based on what the folks on the ground have told me,” Tufton told journalists, following a tour of the hospital yesterday.

He said that the scope of work has intensified on the 10-storey building, with overhaul of the roof “in full swing” and the inner plumbing and electrical fixtures being replaced. A $100-million contract has been signed for the roof work.

“The contract has commenced to… redo the entire roof because… it was leaking, creating the moisture in the walls and creating the environment for mold growth. So we had to deal with that, and that’s going to be a major comprehensive overhaul,” the health minister noted.

He informed that $400 million is being spent to replace the pipes, electrical and ventilation system to address noxious fumes being emitted.

The rehabilitation of the hospital is being undertaken at a cost of approximately $3.5 billion.

“The resources are there and [with] the budget [that] has been announced recently… enough has been set aside to ensure that whatever is required is dealt with,” Tufton said.

He noted that when refurbished, Cornwall Regional Hospital will provide “top-notch service” to western Jamaica.

“Cornwall will rise again and will become an important facility to western Jamaica and even beyond. We are doing everything that we can. We are doing it right. We are not patching up the place; we are doing a major overall,” Tufton said.

The minister was accompanied on the tour by Director at the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), Errol Greene; and other technical staff.

—JIS