US$7.1m to restore operating theatres hit by Melissa, says health minister

WESTERN BUREAU:

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says the ongoing work to restore the operating theatres at five hospitals in western Jamaica, which were damaged during the passage of Hurricane Melissa, could be completed by February 2026 and at an approximate cost of US$7.1 million (J$1.13 billion).

Tufton, who was addressing an online press conference last Thursday, said the figures arise from an assessment which was done at 13 operating theatres across the five affected hospitals. The facilities include the Falmouth Hospital in Trelawny; Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in St James; Savanna-la-Mar Hospital in Westmoreland; Black River Hospital in St Elizabeth; and Noel Holmes Hospital in Hanover.

“A total of 13 operating theatres were reviewed across these facilities, of which only three were fully functional at the time of the assessment,” said Tufton. “There was significant infrastructure damage, including roof loss and compromised internal areas, some equipment damage driven by water exposure, and utility disruptions, and key among the findings was that multiple pieces of theatre and sterilisation equipment sustained some water damage.”

“Some can be repaired based on the assessment, but others may require full replacement, and there is an approximate estimate of about US$7.1 million,” Tufton continued. “We have a recovery plan as it relates to operating theatres, which is to align the infrastructure repairs of each facility to restore functionality within our operating theatres, within between two and three months. So, certainly going into January or February.”

According to Tufton, the projected restoration will affect the hospitals’ ability to perform elective medical procedures, although they will still be able to conduct emergency surgeries where needed.

“We are able to deal with emergencies, and are doing emergency surgeries, life-saving surgeries, but it will result in some delay as it relates to electives, and we just want to bring that to the public. But the work has been done in terms of the assessment,” said Tufton.

Assessing need for relocations

The affected hospitals, along with other islandwide infrastructure, were left in need of extensive repairs after Hurricane Melissa made landfall on October 28 as a Category 5 storm, the most devastating hurricane in Jamaica’s history to date. Since then, the roof of the CRH, which was significantly damaged during the storm, has been restored.

Tufton also noted that the Ministry of Health and Wellness is collaborating with the Inter-American Development Bank to assess whether the Black River, Noel Holmes, and Falmouth hospitals will need to be relocated from their current coastline sites.

“The assessments are aimed at answering the very critical question of whether these hospital plants located in vulnerable seashore areas can remain, given the vulnerabilities due to climate change. As we seek to build back better, we are trying to ensure that we create a health system that is not only responsive to the needs of the population, but also to the changing dynamics in the climatic situation that we are currently experiencing globally, with more severe storms, of course, being a critical indicator of that,” he said.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com