Accident and Emergency Unit At CRH to Open By Mid Year

The Accident and Emergency (A&E) Unit at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St. James, is expected to be opened by the middle of 2026.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, made the announcement at a Post-Cabinet Press Briefing held on Wednesday (May 6), at Jamaica House in Kingston.

The unit was relocated to the Mount Salem Health Centre to facilitate the hospital’s redevelopment.

Dr. Tufton said that with the redevelopment works being carried out at the hospital, the A&E unit will be fitted with state-of-the art equipment to improve the experience for both staff and patients.

“There is a target to open the A&E mid year this year, which is a very big positive because the A&E is four times as big as the Mount Salem Clinic, which is now hosting the A&E,” Dr. Tufton said.

“And it will be equipped with a number of positive things that will make A&E a lot more tolerable and easy to work in, both for patient and staff,” he added.

He noted that the reopening of the A&E at CRH will allow the Mount Salem Health Centre to be restored to its former status, reaching more residents in the area it serves.

Meanwhile, the wider reopening of CRH is slated to take place in the 2026/2027 financial year, “barring any major unforeseen circumstance,” Minister Tufton said.

He admitted that the redevelopment project has faced multiple delays, the most recent of which was caused by Hurricane Melissa in October 2025.

“We had some setbacks… they had a lot of raw material… in a warehouse on the compound and everything was destroyed with the hurricane. The entire place was blown down, and they sustained some minor damage on the building itself as did everywhere else,” the Minister explained.

He noted that there were further challenges in reordering materials from China, due to various global issues.

Notwithstanding the setbacks, Minister Tufton reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to the hospital’s full reopening.