Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton earlier today answered concerns over the cost for the redevelopment of the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), a project that is
to yield a new, State-of-the-Art facility for Jamaicans.
“CRH will be a different CRH from what we started with. It will be different in terms of the facilities that are there, some of the services that will be offered as well as the general levels of comfort for staff and for patients,” the Minister said.
However to get there, he said it had been necessary to take an incremental approach to the redevelopment while “responding to unknowns and to some escalating costs – including costs associated with global supply chain issues”.
It is estimated to cost $10.5 billion to complete the construction work under the third and final phase of the project with an additional $2.5 billion to be spent on the supply and installation of furniture, fittings. Some $1.1 billion is estimated to be spent on professional services, including the architect, structural engineer and quantity surveyor.
Already some $2 billion, including for demolition works and roof repairs, has been invested to make the structure ready to receive the final build-out, which will include medical and general services and installation of equipment.
A further $2 billion has been spent on:
- Relocation of services to other spaces on the hospital campus;
- Build-out of spaces in rented accommodation and on the hospital campus to allow for continued operation on the campus;
- Retrofitting and build-out of spaces at Falmouth, Noel Holmes and Savanna-la-Mar to accept services re-routed from CRH;
- Lease of properties; and
- Procurement of equipment to bolster services offered at back-up hospitals.
“This is not a case of cost over-runs. It is a case of re-scoping a project to create a new facility that the people of western Jamaica deserve; and this Government has decided to do that by putting up the resources to do it,” the Minister explained.
“I think that requires a recognition and appreciation from all of us … because ultimately the benefits will accrue to the people on the ground in terms of services,” he added.
The Minister also defended the approach taken to the redevelopment, in order that the hospital could continue to deliver services to the people of western Jamaica.
“We had to work with the deck that we had in hand. We had to find a place to treat patients and in a very difficult period, I might add. We had no choice but to do it in the way that we did it,” he said.
The Minister has encouraged the public to maintain confidence in the process to deliver the new and improved facility.
“We really want the public to maintain confidence in the process. I am not for one moment suggesting that questions should not be asked; I am a public servant and my responsibility is to account for what I am doing,” he said.
“We are doing the best that we can, under the circumstances, to provide the best result for a modern, efficient hospital for the people of western Jamaica and in fact the people of Jamaica. This is not an easy challenge that we have taken on,” the Minister added.