$300-m Black River Hospital reopened

BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — Against the backdrop of recent criticism of the Government’s pace of recovery a year after Hurricane Melissa battered here, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness on Wednesday doubled down on his intention to make changes to the contracting and procurement phase now causing setbacks in rebuilding. He said Cabinet ministers have had to push hard on technocrats to fast-track projects like the rebuilding Black River Hospital, which was decimated during the passage of Hurricane Melissa a year ago. “We are faced with technocrats telling us, you can’t do this, you can’t do that… the answer is always no, while the people suffer. We are not saying we must not follow the rules. We are saying that we must follow them quickly, don’t delay,” he said on Wednesday at the reopening of the 181-bed facility in St Elizabeth. He said many Government projects have not been delivered due to inefficiencies. “You have never heard a report stating how fast they have delivered! No, you don’t hear any report on how efficient they have been! No, that doesn’t get reported!” he said. Holness said the Black River Hospital was rebuilt within eight months at a cost of over $300 million. The four wards reopened at the seaside hospital are two male, a female, and the paediatric ward. The facility’s bed count has been expanded from 150 to 181, including a nursery with 20 cots up from five.

One of the four wards at Black River Hospital (Photo: Kasey Williams)

Two new ambulances were also handed over to the facility. Meanwhile, Holness announced that more Government services are being returned to Black River, including a mobile tax unit to serve as a tax office as of next week. “We will ensure that critical services are restored, like your hospital service… but the long-term approach is that the hospital really cannot stay here. Though the roof may not be blown off in the next weather event, it is highly likely that you won’t be able to access the hospital,” he said. He said the future of Black River has to be strategic in the era of climate change. “We know the cost of that exposure and we cannot spend billions repairing public buildings only to leave them in the same vulnerable location and face the same losses when the next major hurricane arrives,” he said, while also pointing to the need for relocation of residents in Parottee. He reiterated that the Urban Development Corporation, which has been tasked to identify lands close to Black River, is to develop plans for an urban centre that is robust and resilient. “The idea is not to abandon Black River. The idea is to move the critical services and critical businesses out of the zone of inundation… into a location that we can defend, secure and continue to have the critical services during and immediately after a devastating weather event,” he said.