Suite struggle

A fallout between the National Housing Trust (NHT) and one of its contractors is being cited as the primary factor jeopardising the completion deadline of an overnight stay facility for parents at the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston.

In July 2021, ground was broken for the two-storey building to house a 20-bed overnight parent suite on the first floor and a cardiac ward on the second.

That plan was later revised to just one storey, and after several delays and debates over whether the building should serve as a cardiac ward for children instead, the Government last April said it would be prioritised for parents and completed this summer.

Despite the summer season starting last week, the building is far from completion.

A visit by The Sunday Gleaner revealed a structure with no doors or windows and with undressed walls. Debris was seen strewn behind a zinc fence that separates the under-construction facility from the rest of the hospital. The building also appeared bereft of the required electrical, plumbing, and other fixtures.

The project is funded by the National Health Fund (NHF) and the NHT and is being undertaken in partnership with the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), which oversees the hospital.

NHF responsibilities

According to an NHF report obtained by The Sunday Gleaner, the NHF was responsible for the foundation works and the ground floor structural steel framework. It was also to provide a concrete roof slab, conduits, and piping for electrical fixtures, as well as monitor the progress of the site.

A contract for the ‘Foundation Works’ was executed between the National Health Fund and N.F Barnes and Construction and Equipment Company to the tune of $16.5 million on June 15, 2021.

“The contract was successfully completed and final account payments were made on February 27, 2024,” the NHF reported. “As for the structural works, which includes the steel framing and roofing, a contract dated January 26, 2022, in the sum of $51,748,200 with the National Health Fund and SM Quality Construction was executed. The contract achieved partial completion on March 29, 2024 with a defect of 12 months ending March 29, 2025.”

According to the NHF report, the NHT is responsible for completing the development, which includes enclosing the building and rendering sundries and finishes, and providing electrical installation to all wiring, fixtures, and fittings. It is also to provide floor finishes, including tiling; windows; doors; and general painting.

Last year, in response to an uproar from Dr Sherard Little, consultant cardiothoracic surgeon, and clinical director, and his team, who believe it would be better to use the building as a ward for cardiac patients during their admission and recovery, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton defended the decision for the overnight facility.

The health minister chided Little’s space concerns, calling them untrue, as accommodation has been made for any patient overflow to be accommodated at the University Hospital of the West Indies, free of cost to the public. He noted that a bigger issue was that there was abundant ward space but limited personnel at the facility.

Last week, Tufton bided his time, positing that despite the looks of things, there may still be time for the facility to be completed this summer.

“The NHT is to complete some minor structural works. They had some challenges with a contractor, who was eventually fired,” he told The Sunday Gleaner when contacted.

“The NHF had some responsibilities, and the NHT had some responsibilities. I don’t want to personally implicate the NHT [because] it is one Government, but the truth is that the NHF has done its part,” Tufton said. “Apparently, the NHT has had some difficulties. They have fired a contractor and the ball is really in their court now. That is, essentially, the conclusion.”

There was no explanation as to when and why the contractor was fired, and all stakeholders directed such queries to the NHT, which falls under Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

SERHA had allocated a $120 million budget for building the suite, but the value of the contract signed by the NHT and the circumstances of its termination remain unclear.

In a response to Sunday Gleaner queries, the NHT claimed last Thursday that the building was 60 per cent complete, up from 50 per cent as declared by the authorities in April 2023. It also noted that its completion timeline has been revised to the end of the financial year.

“The NHT has not experienced any challenge managing its financial commitment to the project. However, as with most construction projects, issues may emerge from time to time that impact various stages of the project,” the agency explained. “In the case of the overnight facility, the NHT is currently procuring a new contractor to complete the project to meet the revised timeline due to delays with the construction work, and finalise design elements with relevant stakeholder agencies.”

There were no challenges

In the meantime, Bustamante Hospital for Children CEO Anthony Wood said that from the hospital’s perspective, there were no challenges to or from the construction activities.

“The operation of the hospital has not been affected by any dust or noise pollution from the site,” he said.

The construction site is located between wards Seven, Eight, and Three, and is in the vicinity of the hospital’s Learning Centre.

Two weeks ago, a male Sunday Gleaner reporter, who was posing as a parent, was told by staff at the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department that only the child’s mother was allowed to stay in the location currently being used to house parents overnight. It costs $600 per night, but the space is limited and priority is given to mothers who live outside the Corporate Area.

While fathers are not allowed inside that space, they may occupy their cars in the parking lot or any other secluded place on the compound, provided they adhere to the instructions of the on-duty security guards.

Sometimes it is heartbreaking to hear some children and parents cry for each other when visiting hours end, one security guard said.

Three Thursdays ago, at one ward, Sharon Senior*, the mother of a two-year-old girl hospitalised for jaundice-related complications, hugged her child painfully during visiting hours. She said the child fell ill the Monday prior and had since been admitted.

Unwilling to leave her baby’s side, the mother, who hails from Spanish Town, St Catherine, said she spent two nights walking the entire hospital compound, routinely returning to her child’s bedside, where she peered at her through a window.

She said that when she finally paid for a night inside the old overnight stay facility, she regretted it as she found it unkempt and uncomfortable.

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com