A&E Unit at Cornwall Regional Hospital Ready for Reopening

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says the Accident and Emergency (A&E) facility at Cornwall Regional Hospital in St. James is now ready for reopening, marking a significant milestone in the Government’s ongoing restoration of the hospital’s main building.

Dr. Tufton made the disclosure during a Post-Cabinet Press Briefing at Jamaica House, on Wednesday (October 7) as he provided an update on the state of healthcare infrastructure in western Jamaica.

He said the A&E facility is expected to be officially reopened this month or early November by Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness.

“The new Accident and Emergency Facility represents a very significant start to the full re-engagement of the Cornwall Regional Building,” Dr. Tufton said, noting that the facility will provide patients and citizens in western Jamaica with a modern, spacious and integrated environment designed to support the rapid assessment, stabilisation, diagnosis and treatment of critically ill and injured patients.

The new A&E facility will provide comprehensive emergency services, including trauma care, ambulatory services and walk-in treatment, and will feature 10 observation beds for up to 24-hour observation.

It will also include examination rooms, two operating theatres with contactless entry systems to support infection prevention and control, two minor operating theatres, a staff on-call and wellness area, dedicated ultrasound and ECG rooms, and an A&E autoclave.

Dr. Tufton said the facility will also have a dedicated imaging suite equipped with a CT scanner and digital X-ray, as well as an asthma bay, observation bay, security post and medical records area.

He explained that the new A&E facility will be twice the size of the current facility at the Mount Salem clinic, which was converted to provide emergency services after the main Cornwall Regional building became unavailable.

The Minister said the reopening of the main building A&E will also create additional bed capacity at the current emergency facility. He noted that approximately 32 beds are currently being used in that space and that once the A&E is relocated, an additional 35 beds can be provided.

He said this was one of the reasons the Government reconsidered plans for a proposed tented facility on the Cornwall Regional compound, as the freed-up area can instead support additional patient capacity and address significant parking challenges.

Dr. Tufton said the progress at Cornwall Regional forms part of extensive work undertaken across the western health system over the past 12 months, despite the challenges created by Hurricane Melissa.

He expressed appreciation to healthcare workers and the teams involved in the rebuilding effort, noting that many employees were themselves affected by the hurricane while continuing to provide care to the population.

He said the Government remains committed to further modernising healthcare infrastructure and ensuring that facilities are more resilient, better equipped and capable of meeting the needs of patients and staff.