MONTEGO BAY, St James — The completion date for the delay-plagued Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) has been pushed back by another three years. But minister with responsibility for coordinating special projects and major developments in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Homer Davis, is reassuring the public that this latest deadline will be met.

“The Government will continue to pull out all the stops with the view of completing the rehabilitation work within the next 36 months,” stated Davis, who added that work on the Children and Adolescents Hospital will also be escalated.

The 10-storey CRH has been undergoing a $3-billion rehabilitation upgrade since air quality issues at the institution made staff ill in 2017. However, procurement and other issues resulted in completion delays. Last November Health Minister Christopher Tufton announced that taxpayers would have to find an additional $1.6 billion for the penultimate phase of work being done. Up to that point, $1.4 billion had already been spent on the project, which was five years behind schedule. It was said then that work would be completed this year.

“I am really eager to see the completion of those two buildings and the service delivery starts there,” stated Davis, who noted that when the projects are completed with some 450-bed space at the CRH and approximately 300 beds at the children’s hospital, “we will have the largest medical facility in the Caribbean and it will be situated right here in Montego Bay.”

The 220-bed, $5.7-billion six-storey Western Children and Adolescent Hospital, on which work began in 2017, was put on hold because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The minister’s update on both projects came as he addressed the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (MBCCI) 2022 telethon launch at the S Hotel in St James. The funds are to be used to purchase much-needed equipment for the Type A facility. The launch of the April 3 event was held under the theme ‘A fi wi hospital’.

Davis, who emphasised that it will not be easy to complete the CRH project, said he is committed to bringing together the technocrats and stakeholders in Montego Bay to give a clearer picture of its status and the work that is needed for completion.

Davis, who endorsed the chamber’s telethon, has challenged the business community in Montego Bay and the wider Western Jamaica to support the event. He has committed $100,000 towards the event while former MBCCI President Lloyd B Smith who chaired Wednesday’s launch, has committed to donating $50,000.

This is in addition to the $3 million the chamber had already raised towards the targeted $50 million needed to purchase the equipment.

“We know that we cannot, probably, purchase the amount of equipment that is needed but what we do know is that we will help to sensitise those among us who can help the hospital towards this goal,” stated MBCCI President Janet Silvera.

“Until we build back what we can, it is important that we ensure that those who are getting care are able to get care with the proper equipment,” she added.

Noting that the hospital belongs to the people of western Jamaica, Silvera said it is important for Montegonians to take ownership of the facility.

“A fi wi hospital. It’s nobody else’s hospital. It is the citizens of Montego Bay that will eventually take ownership of this hospital. As much as you see the minister of health and Wellness claiming that they own it, it is not them. It is we the citizens of Montego Bay who own this hospital and must take it up in our hands,” asserted Silvera.

For her part, an elated CEO Charmaine Williams Beckford expressed gratitude to the chamber.

“You could have chosen anybody else in St James. There are so many needy persons here in Western Jamaica and St James, but you selected us. We feel special today. So, thank you,” expressed Williams Beckford, who also pointed to previous assistance received from the MBCCI.

Among the equipment to be purchased are infusion pumps, portable X-rays and arterial blood gas machines for the paediatrics department. A portable ultrasound machine, arterial blood gas machine and trolleys for the accident and emergency department are also needed.