OCHO RIOS, St Ann – When the $380-million upgrade of Alexandria Hospital in St Ann ends within the next six to eight months, the facility will be able to provide 24-hour emergency care, much to the delight of residents who have long clamoured for extended hours.

“We will be creating an accident and emergency (A&E) department on the property so that at the end of this intervention we want to look at moving from 10:00 pm back to 8:00 am the next morning in terms of accident and emergency care,” director of the North East Regional Health Authority Fabia Lamm said during a town hall meeting on Wednesday.

The hospital’s limited hours of operation has been a major concern over the years. In a 2022 incident, individuals seeking help for someone allegedly involved in a car crash reportedly physically assaulted staff who had advised that only emergency maternity cases were dealt with after 10:00 pm.

In the most recent incident circulated on social media this week, there were complaints that a patient was unable to access emergency health care at the facility because it was closed.

The 24-hour A&E unit, which will address those issues, will also have an ambulance bay. Also among the raft of planned upgrades is a space dedicated to maternal and child activities and an area where patients can wait in comfort.

Work will also include a complete overhaul of the electrical wiring, installation of a new generator and erection of security fencing, which is welcome news for staff who have had issues with the compound being unsecured.

“We will be looking to secure the property with fencing. To the front of the hospital, we’ll be putting in some retaining walls, the fencing will be a combination of block wall with chain link fence and to the extreme rear of the building there will be some barbed wire fencing to secure the property,” said Lamm.

The upgrade will also extend to the road leading to the hospital and the entrance as well.

“All the road from down the main road come up to the hospital will be paved and rehabilitated. We’ll be changing up the entrance at the front of the hospital to create easier access to those buildings there,” Lamm explained.

Alexandria resident Patrick Burton, who said he is among those who have waited for years to see some of these changes, is delighted at the plans.

“Finally, something is happening! I have my old lady and my old man taking care of, so it’s good to know I don’t have to go all the way to St Ann’s Bay in case of an emergency when I have a health facility right up the road from me. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way when I say I finally feel like my tax dollars are being put to good use,” he said.

He is also happy that the hospital compound will soon be more secure.

“I have friends who work up there and they tell me almost every day that it’s only God can keep them safe when they are doing their work. No fencing, people walking on and off the compound, so to hear of fencing for the facility, that definitely gets my stamp of approval,” Burton added.