May Pen Hospital Benefits from $67.7 Million Upgrading
By: , November 24, 2014The Key Point:
Photo: JIS
Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson (right), cuts the ribbon to officially open the expanded Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department at the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon on (November 21).. Others (from left to right) are: Member of Parliament for Central Clarendon, Mike Henry; Director of Nursing at the hospital, Yvonne Brown-Smite; Chief Executive Officer at the hospital, Nadia Nunes; and Senior Medical Officer, Dr. Bradley Edwards.The Facts
- Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson in his address at the opening of the expanded A&E unit of the Clarendon-based facility on Friday (November 21), said the work was undertaken to improve service delivery and provide a more comfortable working environment for staff.
- In addition, $4 million was spent to repair the roof of the operating theatre, and the facility was further equipped with tables and delivery beds at a cost of $5.7 million. A new casualty department was constructed, as well as a new covered waiting area at a cost of $17 million.
The Full Story
The Government has spent approximately $67.7 million to expand and upgrade several sections of the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department of the May Pen Hospital.
Minister of Health, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson in his address at the opening of the expanded A&E unit of the Clarendon-based facility on Friday (November 21), said the work was undertaken to improve service delivery and provide a more comfortable working environment for staff.
“The emergency department of any hospital is critical, and can mean the difference between life and death. The A&E departments at our hospitals are heavily trafficked, and our aim is to ensure that no patient requiring emergency care will get less than the best service,” he stated.
He informed that the projects, funded by the National Health Fund (NHF), include upgrading of the chiller system at a cost of $41 million, to involve medical records, laboratory, X-ray, morgue, administration, pharmacy, maternity and the operating theatre.
In addition, $4 million was spent to repair the roof of the operating theatre, and the facility was further equipped with tables and delivery beds at a cost of $5.7 million. A new casualty department was constructed, as well as a new covered waiting area at a cost of $17 million.
Minister Ferguson said health facilities in the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) continue to receive large investments in infrastructure development, as part of the Government’s commitment to improve healthcare across the island.
He informed that over the past two years some $620 million has been spent on hospital and health centres in the SRHA.
Meanwhile, the Minister used the occasion to condemn acts of violence against health care staff.
“Our health workers make tremendous sacrifices to care for the sick, and it cannot be that they are not able to do so in a safe environment. The Ministry…continues to put measures in place to increase security of the health facilities…I warn anyone, who believes that they can perpetuate violence against our health workers that we will work with the police to ensure that they are dealt with to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.