KINGSTON, Jamaica—Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness will officially open the new Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in the coming weeks, according to the Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton.

Tufton said the main building is twice the size of the former space, with full trauma, ambulatory and emergency services; 10 observation beds; two operating theatres and two minor theatres; dedicated ultrasound and ECG rooms; and its own imaging suite with CT scanner and digital X-ray.

“Moving A&E into the main building will also free space for 35 additional beds,” said Tufton.

He was speaking in the House of Representatives on October 13 where he announced that four new public hospitals will be built by the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA). The facilities to be constructed are a new 250-bed Black River Hospital in St Elizabeth, a new 250-bed Falmouth General Hospital in Trelawny, a new 150-bed Noel Holmes Hospital in Hanover, and a new 720-bed Kingston Public Hospital Campus at Orange Street, downtown Kingston.

Tufton also provided an update on the rehabilitation of hospitals that were damaged by Hurricane Melissa, remarking that, “while we plan for the long term, we have not stood still”.

Regarding efforts to restore the Black River Hospital that was extensively damaged and which will be reconstructed further inland, Tufton said that by the end of this month, the prime minister will open the rebuilt male and female surgical wards, the operating theatres and the staff quarters.

He shared that the surgical wards have new bathrooms, a new nursing station, and piped oxygen to every area. The two-floor theatre suite has two operating rooms, a recovery area, a staff lounge and a Central Sterile Services Department.

At the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, an extension to the wards in the former ISOMAT area has been completed and now houses 28 medical patients. Tufton said the female surgical ward was being renovated and it was expected that patients would have moved back in that area this week. The roof was redone, the structure painted and toilet facilities upgraded.

Tufton said this is expected to reduce the overcrowding in the A&E Department by 38 beds. A ward space, which has been converted into an outpatient clinic, housing all medical, surgical, psychiatric clinic and social workers, in addition to a minor operating theatre which, is awaiting equipment, were also completed.

At the Falmouth Hospital, works on the A&E Department and the main ward are about 90 per cent complete and are expected to finish by early November, moving emergency care out of the field hospital.

Meanwhile, new staff quarters with six rooms for nurses and doctors have been completed at the Noel Holmes Hospital. The outpatient area has been renovated, and the maternity ward, fully gutted and rebuilt with a redesigned operating room, is 85 per cent complete.

As it relates to primary care, Tufton shared that more than 10 health centres were upgraded under Operation Refresh and will come on stream in the coming months. Additionally, under the Health Systems Strengthening Programme, the commissioning of three health centres in St Catherine – St. Jago Park, Old Harbour and Greater Portmore – will be done by year-end.

“This is the largest programme of hospital construction in our recent history. It will be delivered transparently through NaRRA, under the scrutiny of this House, and I will keep members informed at each major milestone,” the health and wellness minister told the Parliament.

-Lynford Simpson