$40m St James medical facilities opened

THE doors of the new facilities at the St James Medical Complex were opened on Tuesday, marking the relocation from the Port of Spain General Hospital central block to the St James Medical Centre.

The relocations were necessary because the hospital block was decanted after the 6.9 earthquake of August 2018. The block is earmarked to be replaced with a 540-bed tower, and demolition was accelerated when the block was declared unsound after the earthquake.

The block contained surgical wards, operating theatre and clinical support services

Built to the tune of $40.5 million, the new St James facilities include 69 beds, two isolation units, two surgical wards, one intensive care unit (ICU), one high dependency unit and an operating theatre.

Speaking at the opening, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh said, "What you see here today is a transformation of an empty, disused space into a modern secondary health care facility in TT.

"When I first visited here in 2016, it was a place for pigeons, dust and everything except what we see today."

He said the new facilities will help improve bed access and the isolation units will increase the country's isolation capacity in the face of infectious diseases like the coronavirus.

"What I hope will happen is that these facilities will bring first class infrastructure married with first-class attitudes for our doctors, nurses and ward maids."

Noting the government's commitment to improving healthcare, he said an estimated $2 billion is now being invested in other projects under the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA). They include the rebuilding of the PoSGH central block, the Diego Martin Health Centre and a linear accelerator (LINAC) for expanded cancer care at St James. The LINAC machine will be unveiled after Carnival, said Deyalsingh.

Works on both the Point Fortin and Arima General Hospital is expected to be completed in April. The Sangre Grande Hospital has a completion date of August 2022.

On the ongoing projects, Deyalsingh said, "What you are seeing is a manifestation of the government's priorities in prioritising health in times of economic stringency. No effort and no funds have been spared."

NWRHA chairman Lisa Agard welcomed the new St James facilities which she said are a short-term measure for dealing with the displacements caused by the decanting of the PoSGH central block.

"It's an amazing facility," she said. "For those of you who have been patients or had family members who may have been patients at central block, this is a remarkable improvement on that facility."