Ground-Breaking for Spanish Town Hospital Redevelopment Close
By: , August 10, 2023
Photo: Dave Reid
Health and Wellness Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (right), listens as Medical Technologist at the Spanish Town Hospital, Venetia Oakley (left), outlines the features of new lab testing machine during a tour of the hospital grounds in St. Catherine on August 9. Looking on (at centre) is Board Chairman, South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), Wentworth Charles.
Photo: Dave Reid
Health and Wellness Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (right), speaks with (from left) Board Chairman, South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), Wentworth Charles; Regional Director, SERHA, Errol Greene; and Chief Executive Officer, Cenitech Engineering Solutions, George Knight. Occasion was a tour of the Spanish Town Hospital in St. Catherine on August 9.The Full Story
Health and Wellness Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says the breaking of ground for the major redevelopment of the Spanish Town Hospital is “closer than ever”.
“I anticipate that we will see ground-breaking for the main building within the next two months or so. We have gotten all the approvals from our multilateral partners that we are working with. It now has to work its way through the Cabinet, which I am sure, will be excited about pushing ahead and you will see some active work taking place,” he noted further.
Minister Tufton was addressing journalists during a visit to the St. Catherine-based hospital on Wednesday (August 9).
The redevelopment project will transform the Spanish Town Hospital into a six-storey, 100-bed facility comprising seven operating theaters, a new accident and emergency centre, a new pharmacy and laboratory with diagnostics and other support services.
Upgrading of the facility will see expansion of medical services at the hospital to include cardiology, haematology/oncology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, and otolaryngology (ENT).
During the visit, Dr. Tufton toured a building that has been newly retrofitted and repurposed to accommodate existing facilities on the grounds of the hospital.
It will clear the way for the start of the construction of the six-storey complex.
Equipped with modern equipment, including a new laboratory testing machine, the building includes pharmacy services, spaces for medication collection and storage, waiting and meeting areas, staff offices, bathroom facilities, among others.
Dr. Tufton said that the facilities are being put in place to create a comfortable environment for staff and patients accessing the hospital services during the period of transition.
It will be able to accommodate more than the 600 patients seen daily at the hospital, and the more than the 2,000 lab tests that are currently conducted per day.