Renovated administrative wing at Cornwall Regional Hospital opened

 

The administrative wing of the main building of Cornwall Regional Hospital in St. James was open Thursday in keeping with the government's promise to phase the opening of the renovated facility.

 

In March, Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton announced that the reopening would begin in a few weeks. He also said the completion date for the project was revised from 2026 to financial year 2027-28 out of an abundance of caution. 

 

Speaking ahead of the opening of the administrative suite on TVJ's Smile Jamaica on Thursday morning, Dr. Tufton said it will give a glimpse of the new look Cornwall Regional Hospital, which he described as an Achilles heel of his stewardship. 

 

"It hopefully will restore some hope for those who felt hopeless in terms of will there ever be a day when we see the new Cornwall or the main building, because Cornwall as a hospital has been functioning and seeing patients, but that main building which had to be stripped down because of your quality and other issues. So, it's symbolic and it's tangible. Symbolic because it represents hope for the future and not too far future now that we're on the final leg. And it's of course utility because we have to start with administration before we get into the wards and so on."

 

He said patients can expect improved service delivery at the regional hospital. 

 

"The staff have worked miracles over the last five years or so because they have had to manage service provision in less than adequate circumstances - in some instances involving significant logistics where surgeries have to be performed at Falmouth and makeshift buildings have to be constructed on the compound. By pulling the administrative team together, placing them in a very comfortable environment - I've seen it; it's extremely modern, it looks good, it feels good, air quality [is] good quality - it's gonna boost morale," he declared.