FORT CHARLOTTE, Hanover — Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has revealed that close to $1 billion is being spent by the Government to rehabilitate and upgrade health facilities in Hanover following Hurricane Melissa, which devastated a number of the parish’s facilities last October.

Tufton said the sum being spent on Noel Holmes Hospital and 17 health centres (clinics) across the parish is separate from the undisclosed amount that will be allocated to construct a new hospital approximately four years from now.

“That is the Government’s commitment to the people of Hanover,” assured Tufton, who was providing an update on medium- and long-term recovery progress a year after the Category 5 storm.

The update was delivered during a press conference held at the Type-C hospital following a tour on Friday.

The National Health Fund (NHF) is currently spending more than $300 million on renovation work at the hospital, which is now 82 per cent complete.

The staff quarters, paramedics, outpatient clinic, and general stores are 100 per cent complete. However, the maternity ward and operating theatre are currently at 90 per cent completion and are expected to be handed over next month.

Similarly, the newly constructed pharmacy and dietary buildings are expected to be handed over in December of this year and January of 2027, respectively.

With millions being spent to rehabilitate the facility while dialogue takes place between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Ministry of Finance for the construction of the new hospital, the minister addressed questions surrounding the current expenditure.

“We can’t care for people under a tent or in the open during the interim. When it comes to life and the preservation of life, we can’t compromise. We have to provide some very basic things, and inpatient care, dietary, pharmacy — those are just obvious things that have to be here,” Tufton argued.

Land is currently being sought for the construction of a new 150-bed facility — a significant expansion from the hospital’s current 60 beds — which will offer a wider range of services.

Tufton noted that finding a suitable location to build a resilient facility is not the only reason for the relocation.

“It is also a recognition that, as a parish, Hanover will continue to grow [and] the population will expand. There are many housing developments and hotels planned, so it will naturally become a more robust parish. We in public health, and as a government, have to plan for the future. You have to look 20 years down the line, and this facility has outgrown its useful life, even though it continues to provide critical care and remains very important to the parish,” Tufton explained.

Between April and September of this year, the hospital saw increased demand for most of its services, with the exception of outpatient visits and baby deliveries, compared to the same period in 2025.

Similarly, all 17 clinics recorded a combined usage increase of 5.1 per cent for the same period.

Staffing levels have also expanded significantly across the parish, increasing from 278 before the hurricane to 314 at the health centres and from 189 to 270 at the hospital.

Rehabilitation work has already been completed on nine health centres — Cascade, Cave Valley, Chester Castle, Copse, Grange/Kendal, Green Island, Hopewell, Lucea, and Sandy Bay. Work is expected to be completed at Nyerere by the end of this month, and at Mt Pelier and Ramble by November and January, respectively.

Meanwhile, no repairs were required for the Dias, Kingsvale, Logwood, and Mt Peto health centres. Askenish Health Centre continues to operate from rented premises, where structural repairs remain the responsibility of the landlord.

The minister also revealed that seven of the parish’s health centres will undergo major smart upgrades — the installation of water catchment systems, back-up generators, solar power, disability access, stronger wind pressure resistance — in the next phase.

“We look forward to exciting times in the parish of Hanover. I think Hanover from a health perspective has potential, and we’ve seen some manifestations of that, and the government is certainly spending money,” asserted the minister.