Services to be restored at Black River Hospital, other hurricane-hit facilities this month

 

 

Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton says health services will be restored to the Black River Hospital and other hospitals that were badly damaged by hurricane Melissa in the coming weeks. 

 

Speaking in the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon, Dr. Tufton dismissed claims that the government has been tardy in carrying out repairs to hospital facilities devastated by the storm nearly a year ago.

 

"By the end of this month, in fact on the 28th of this month, the Prime Minister will open the rebuilt male and female surgical wards, the operating theatres an the staff quarters at the Black River Hospital, Madam Speaker. The surgical wards have new bathrooms, new nursing station, piped oxygen to every area. The two-floor theatre suite has two operating rooms, a recovery area, a staff launch and central sterile services department, all new and put in place over the last 12 months, which required a lot of work, Madam Speaker. In addition, the staff quarters have been completed and we are now actively working on the maternity ward and also on the administrative block which is above the Accident and Emergency area," he outlined.

 

"In terms of the Sav-la-Mar Hospital, an extension to the wards in the former isomat, which is the COVID area... is completed and now houses some 28 medical patients. The female surgical ward is being renovated and it is expected that patients will move back into the area this week," he added.

 

Dr. Tufton also gave an update on the longstanding repair work being carried out at Cornwall Region Hospital in Montego Bay.

 

"The new Accident and Emergency Department in the main building is ready [and] will be open by the Prime Minister in the coming weeks.... We're looking at I think the 22nd or 23rd of October to officially open the A&E at Cornwall Regional Hospital in the original Cornwall building," he disclosed, noting that the facility will be twice the size of the existing A&E which is the Mount Salem clinic.