KINGSTON, Jamaica— Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, says normal operations have resumed at 23 of 26 hospitals that were affected during Hurricane Beryl’s passage on July 3.

He said the remaining three hospitals – Black River, Noel Holmes and Falmouth General – are still operating in emergency mode, adding “we are taking all the necessary action to get those back up as quickly as possible”.

Dr Tufton provided the update during a press conference at the Ministry’s head office in New Kingston on Thursday (July 18).

He said approximately 82 or 23 per cent of all health facilities sustained major damage, which were structural issues impacting the institutions’ normal operations.

The minister noted that 41 per cent of the damage sustained by health facilities are related to roofing, “which led to water intrusion within [buildings] and, of course, [contributed] to damage to a number of internals”.

Dr Tufton said windows, doors and electrical supplies were also identified among the areas impacted.

He indicated that 76 per cent of the total cost for rehabilitating systems impacted was derived from assessments of facilities in Clarendon, Manchester and St Elizabeth, which fall under the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), and Westmoreland, Hanover, St James and Trelawny, which are overseen by the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA).

The minister advised that Cabinet has given approval for the public health system’s post-hurricane plan, which will be undertaken in three phases.

Dr Tufton indicated, however, that only phase one will be undertaken this financial year, for which the cost to restart operations is $1.7 billion.

“The first phase involves activities which will bring the facility back into full operation within six months. So those facilities that need sufficient work or some work to get back into full operation within six months, we are going to be tackling [those]… in order to ensure that normality is restored, particularly in our health centres that have been most affected,” he said.

Tufton informed that the cost for phase two, “which we classify as ‘restore’”, is estimated at $2.1 billion.

“That will address repairs to parts of the buildings that have been damaged but which do not affect operations and is to be implemented within six to 12 months,” he added.

The minister said the third and final phase will entail activities that make the facilities resilient to natural disasters, like hurricanes, and meet the business continuity standards required for the sector.

“The programme of work should be implemented within 24 months or more,” he indicated.

Dr Tufton said efforts have been made to relocate operations at the worst affected health centres to facilitate the continued provision of services despite the damage to infrastructure.

“We have made efforts to relocate where we can’t operate within that same facility. So [for] health centres, like Southfield… and Newell… in St. Elizabeth, we have found alternative locations.

“So what we will do is to communicate with persons in those communities on the ground so that they know where the service is, while we deal with the immediate repairs that are necessary to get back into those main buildings,” Dr Tufton said.

-JIS