Review Of NHT Completed – Report To Be Debated In Parliament

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says the Government has concluded a review of the National Housing Trust (NHT) aimed at determining reforms deemed “necessary” for implementation at the agency regarding its mandate.

Speaking at Wednesday’s (July 7) official unveiling of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment plan for the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston, Mr. Holness indicated that a report on the outcomes of the review has been prepared and is to be debated in Parliament.

He argued that matters related to reviewing the NHT’s mandate “really should have been debated long ago”.

“But, it is the kind of debate that requires the dedicated attention of the parliamentary agenda. We’re trying to find that slot within the parliamentary agenda where we can debate that report,” he informed, while assuring that “we, in short order, should [be able to] find the space… to dedicate two or three sittings to such a debate”.

The Bustamante Hospital Redevelopment Plan entails the construction of a multipurpose building to house a paediatric cardiac ward and a new overnight parent suite, for which ground was broken on Wednesday.

The facility’s development will be undertaken by the NHT, in partnership with the National Health Fund (NHF) and South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA).

The overnight suite is intended to provide accommodation for parents travelling long distances in particular, to access medical care for their children at the hospital.

Mr. Holness, who has portfolio responsibility for the NHT, praised the entity’s management and staff for identifying the need for the facility, and “finding a way to fulfil that”.

He said while the agency is mandated to build houses, it also has an edict to develop communities around those homes. However, he noted that this mandate has been stretched over the years to support other areas of engagement.

These, the Prime Minister pointed out, include education, citing as an example, the Education Transformation Programme, for which $5 million from the NHT’s resources was earmarked.

Additionally, Mr. Holness said the NHT’s mandate was stretched to encompass national security, noting that the entity was engaged in constructing police stations to support several communities, and barracks for the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).

“We are stretching [their mandate] again, to support the building of a health facility. This tells us that there is need for [a] review of the [entity, and] we have reviewed it,” the Prime Minister added.

For his part, NHT Chairman, Lennox Channer, said the entity’s partnership with the hospital evolved from a Labour Day project undertaken at the institution some two years ago, which entailed repainting the existing overnight suite.

He said upon assessing the challenge of limited space impacting the facility, “we realised that we needed to do much more than improve the infrastructure…  .  We needed to build a new one”.

Mr. Channer said that over the next two years, the NHT will be working with the NHF and SERHA to construct and furnish the proposed multipurpose building to house the parent overnight suite and paediatric cardiac ward.

“Our vision for this parent overnight facility is that it will allow more parents, particularly those who have travelled long distances, to be able to fully support the healing and recovery of their children in a clean, safe and comfortable environment. In essence, we are creating a home away from home for parents, at a time when they need it most,” he noted.

Mr. Channer said the NHT will be sharing its project management and technical expertise on the project, while ensuring that the highest industry standards are retained.