MONTEGO BAY, St James — There is relief in sight for patients who have had to endure the heat and discomfort of the tent that has housed the Cornwall Regional Hospital’s (CRH) Accident & Emergency Unit for the past three years.

The unit is now once again operating from the Mount Salem Health Centre, the ‘temporary’ location to which it was moved in 2017 after noxious fumes heralded the need for a massive overhaul of CRH. The centre was expanded in 2018 after it was deemed too cramped to accommodate A&E patients. However, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was commandeered to help handle the influx of patients in respiratory distress. A&E services were then moved to a large tent outside. After being assessed, patients had to walk along a makeshift zinc-covered passageway out in the open to access wards and other facilities.

”I’m happy to report that the COVID numbers have declined substantially and we have then relocated the patients back in the main area that was constructed for A&E,” Minister of Health & Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton told journalists following a tour of the facility on Friday.

“It’s a much more comfortable environment. It’s air conditioned, the staff is a lot more comfortable, it has nice seating areas, it has bathroom facilities, and so on,” he added.

However, he was quick to point out to members of the public that they will still have to wait to receive medical care, something which he noted was a universal feature of accident and emergency units all around the world. The goal, the minister said, was to make the wait bearable.

“While people still have to wait, as is the case in all A&E, they can wait in a more comfortable setting,” said Tufton.