$4.9-Billion Upgrading Project At UHWI

The University Hospital of the West Indies (UWI) is to benefit from a $4.9-billion upgrade of building and equipment.

The project, which is at the design stage, will include construction of a new six-storey, 120,000-square-foot medical facility, which will accommodate an additional 40 medical and surgical beds, improvements to outpatient or ambulatory surgery, lecture rooms and conference rooms.

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, made the disclosure while making his contribution to the 2021/22 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 19.

Upgrading work will also be done on the cardiology hybrid interventional surgery room and the neonatal intensive care and administrative departments.

“The University Hospital of the West Indies which is our primary tertiary hospital for teaching and research, not just for Jamaica but also the Caribbean, is going to have a new look in the years to come to benefit the people of Jamaica and the Caribbean,” the Health and Wellness Minister said.

Meanwhile, work is advancing on the upgrading of health facilities under the Health Systems Strengthening Programme with designs for 11 of the 13 targeted facilities done and now being reviewed for final approval.

These include the Spanish Town, St. Ann’s Bay and May Pen hospitals.

The work at the Spanish Town Hospital, valued at $2.3 billion will facilitate expanded services, including urology, oncology, cardiology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology and psychiatry.

“At the time of its establishment in 1952 [Spanish Town Hospital] had a 220-bed capacity. The hospital now has 431 beds. However, population expansion in and around St. Catherine has caused significant overcrowding at that institution. With this upgrade, new services are going to be added to the Spanish Town Hospital,” Dr. Tufton said

Upgrading of the St. Ann’s Bay Hospital, to cost approximately $545 million, will include reorganisation of services, construction of a new outpatient block, expansion of radiology and a new intensive care unit.

“St. Ann and its environs are going to benefit from a new look and a better resourced St. Ann’s Bay Hospital, and we will unveil the designs for that in short order,” Minister Tufton said.