BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says while an ecological study is underway, rebuilding of hurricane-ravaged Black River Hospital is well advanced to restore wards in a more resilient structure.

“We are doing an ecological study to look at the location of our health facilities, and so there may be additional major renovation, rebuild for the final resilient phase. Right now the challenge is just to get everybody back up and going and to ensure that we can provide health services, and so far, so good. I think the team has done well,” he said on Thursday during a tour of the hospital with technocrats from the Southern Regional Health Authority.

He said in addition to the male and female wards expected to be ready by the end of June, two operating theatres are being renovated in anticipation for commissioning this month.

“…Construction is well in progress. We are about to put the metal roofing and then the slab, which will also protect it from future hurricanes, so it is a much stronger facility,” he said.

“The operating theatre is to be commissioned in another two weeks, which is a big achievement. [Inside] the two operating theatres, lights are now being installed and the finishes, which means that we can now do surgeries in Black River in the original building, but new and improved,” he added.

On October 28, 2025 the hospital was among major Government buildings battered by Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, hampering medical services in St Elizabeth.

Tufton said while rebuilding is advanced at the hospital, recently renovated staff quarters are likely to be utilised for medical services.

“The team did the staff quarters and [it] is now ready. They may need to use some of the staff quarters for outpatient services. The rest [is] for staff to occupy. I think Black River Hospital is well advanced for over the next six to eight weeks to be commissioned, at least for ward space, close to 150 beds,” Tufton said.That, he pointed out, will take pressure off Mandeville Regional and Percy Junor hospitals in Manchester, as well as Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland.

He said of the 23 health centres in St Elizabeth, 10 were extensively damaged, with Black River Health Centre being the only one not in its original building.

“This Black River Health Centre is under construction, and in another month we expect to be back in operation. They are using a temporary facility with containers now on the compound, and that seems to be going well. We do expect by the end of May, early June for all 23 health centres to be back up. I am told that just about 80 per cent or a little above that of patients are back in at the primary facilities. We are going to have to work harder…to get the citizens of the parish to come back out to their health centres,” he said.

“We understand the trauma that they have been through, but I don’t want them to neglect their chronic illnesses, their screening opportunities, their access to drugs, so I want to use the opportunity to encourage that and that is a challenge that I have set for the parish team here. We have to go out into communities and spend some time just encouraging the mothers, the children, the daughters, and the grandparents to come back to the health centres,” added Tufton.

A recently rebuilt ward at Black River Hospital in St Elizabeth

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton (left) in discussion on Thursday with (from second left) Michael Stern, chairman, Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) board; Michael Bent, regional director SRHA; Sean Brissett, parish manager, St Elizabeth Health Services; Maria Stampp, director of nursing services at Black River Hospital; and Dr Sheriff Imoru, senior medical officer, Black River Hospital.

A ward at hurricane-ravaged Black River Hospital which is to undergo reconstruction.