Costing for Savanna-La-Mar Hospital’s New A&E Department Being Finalised

Costing is being finalised for a new Accident and Emergency Department at Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, which will significantly improve emergency care in Westmoreland, says Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton.

He made the disclosure while reporting on the progress of the restoration of public health facilities in western Jamaica in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (October 13).

He noted that several major rehabilitation works are completed or nearing completion, with additional projects scheduled to come on stream in the coming weeks.

At Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, an extension to the former COVID-19 isolation area has been completed and is accommodating approximately 28 medical patients.

Renovation of the female surgical ward is expected to conclude shortly, allowing patients to return to the facility.

The work includes roof repairs, painting and upgraded bathroom amenities.

The Minister said the improvements will help ease pressure on the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department, while a new concrete outpatient facility, replacing a structure destroyed during the hurricane, has been completed and is undergoing internal installations before commissioning.

In St. Elizabeth, the rebuilt male and female surgical wards, operating theatres and staff quarters at Black River Hospital are scheduled to be officially opened by Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, on October 28.

The wards now have new bathrooms, nursing stations and piped oxygen, while the two-floor theatre suite includes two operating rooms, a recovery area, staff lounge and central sterile services department.

Work is continuing on the maternity ward and the administrative block above the Accident and Emergency Department.

At the Falmouth Public General Hospital in Trelawny, rehabilitation of the Accident and Emergency Department and the main ward area is approximately 90 per cent complete and expected to be finished by early November.

The works are intended to facilitate the transfer of emergency services from the field hospital currently being used.

In Hanover, the new staff quarters at Noel Holmes Hospital are ready for opening, with an official ceremony expected in the coming weeks.

Over in St. James, the Accident and Emergency Department at Cornwall Regional Hospital is also scheduled to open at its original Cornwall building by October 23.

The facility will be twice the size of the existing Accident and Emergency service operating at the Mount Salem location.

Dr. Tufton said that significant restoration work took place over the past 12 months but acknowledged that more work remains, noting the long-term relocation and reconstruction of hospitals in partnership with the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA).

The Minister appealed for patience and understanding as the recovery programme advances, assuring the House that the work already completed and the projects under way will improve healthcare delivery across the affected parishes.