Linstead Hospital to Be Renovated

In its continued thrust to improve health facilities across the island, the Ministry of Health has signed a contract valued at $21.6 million for the renovation of the administrative building at Linstead Hospital, in St. Catherine.

The contract, which was signed today (May 12) with the firm, Black Brothers Incorporated Limited, will result in extensive refurbishing activities. For the initial stage of the project, the roof, floor and walls of the existing structure will be renovated through funding provided by the National Health Fund (NHF).

Delivering the main address at the signing ceremony in New Kingston, Health Minister, Hon. Dr. Fenton Ferguson, said the project is part of a strategic effort of the Government to improve the primary and secondary health care facilities throughout the country.

“Since 2012 we have spent over $1.5 billion on hospitals. We have been able to improve the physical infrastructure and diagnostic capabilities within some of these hospitals,” he informed.

Dr. Ferguson said that for this fiscal year, the Ministry will be spending some $460 million to improve 12 secondary health care institutions across the island.

He informed that the Linstead Hospital and the Princess Margaret Hospital in St. Thomas are to benefit from the expenditure.

Upgrading work is to be carried out on the accident and emergency departments of both hospitals.

The Minister pointed out that the budget for the maintenance of health care equipment has been increased from $80 million last year to almost $500 million for this fiscal year.

“A lot of the issues we have in terms of machines breaking down and the wait to get them fixed, we expect to see marked improvement in that area,” he said.

Meanwhile, Board Chairman for the South East Regional Health Authority, Dr. Andrei Cooke, said that Linstead is one of the fastest growing towns in the country, adding that health facilities must keep pace with the growing population and the demand on resources.

The Linstead Hospital currently provides health care services for approximately 200,000 persons from the parishes of St. Catherine, St. Andrew, St. Mary and Clarendon and also treats referral cases from 10 health centres in Linstead and its environs.