DOGGED by criticism over the Government’s handling, or mishandling, of the makeover of Cornwall Regional Hospital, Ministry of Health Dr Christopher Tufton is optimistic that the St James-based facility will begin phased operation by the middle of next year.

“It is a lot more complicated than it appears and I appreciate the cynicisms and scepticism… around this particular project because it has taken a while for a number of reasons,” said Tufton as he responded to questions during a post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday.

While Tufton did not outline the reasons for the extended work on the hospital, issues including an understating of the problems initially believed to be limited to moulds, electrical and structural issues have forced the Government to extend the refurbishing much longer and causing it to be more expensive than initially projected.

But addressing the media briefing on Wednesday, Tufton said the project is now at the final stage of putting in the internals, the ward space, the waiting areas, lab space and other infrastructure.

“We are now at a point where the core building is now solid, has been made solid [and the] final phase is to be done,” said Tufton.

He added that the ministry is waiting on a final approval in the procurement process and Cabinet sign off for the final phase.

“Assuming all things goes well we could see the start of that programme by September. That’s what I’m hoping for and then it is full throttle through to completion.

“It is going to take longer than the middle of next year but what we envision is once we start, we will phase the reopening so you could get some of the floors [open by the middle of next year] but you will not get all at that point. It is going take a little longer. So I envision that by the middle of next year, hopefully before, we will start to unveil a few of the floors…and we will work it until we are completed,” said Tufton.

Faced with increasing public discontent about the long delay in the reopening of the primary public health facility in Western Jamaica, Prime Minister Andrew Holness toured the work in April and announced that the Government was committed to increasing the budget for restoration of the facility to $14.1 billion.

Initially $5 billion was programmed for the rehabilitation work, which commenced in 2019 and was slated to be executed in multiple phases.

During his tour Holness underscored that there were several issues with the decades-old hospital and these only became apparent as the project progressed.

“When you actually start to strip the building and you begin to see all the cracks, the concrete that is crumbling, all the steel that is rotting, all the issues, what you initially budgeted may not be what the final cost is. That, obviously, was the case here, both in terms of the resources and time,” said Holness.

He argued the hospital’s rehabilitation required further specialised skills and talents, which have been brought in to complete the reconstruction process that has entered phase three.

According to Holness, when the work is done Jamaica will have a first-world hospital that can compete with hospitals anywhere, and “it will be, probably, the leading hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean”.

Holness urged Jamaicans to accept that the rehabilitation of the hospital was not solely about construction, as the Government had to relocate the services and facilities from the institution to a new location.

He indicated that the transfer saw several new temporary and permanent buildings erected, all at a cost of approximately $2 billion.

“So, all of these additional considerations are part of the design and construction of the building,” Prime Minister Holness outlined.

The completion date for Cornwall Regional Hospital’s rehabilitation is now March 2025.