Falmouth Hospital battered
Published:Saturday | November 1, 2025 | 12:10 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
Falmouth Hospital in Trelawny has been left battered by Hurricane Melissa and now faces urgent and extensive repairs.
Days after the storm ravaged the island, the facility remains reeling, grappling with severe damage, water and air-conditioning shortages, as staff work tirelessly to keep essential services running.
When The Gleaner visited the compound on Thursday morning, a group of hospital porters, alongside a mental health professional, were seen pushing a trolley carrying a bucket of seawater collected nearby, the only available source of water.
According to the men, the hospital had been without piped water since the hurricane hit. Though a storage tank remained on the property, broken pipes had rendered it useless. The seawater, they said, was being used to wash away mud, silt, and debris left behind after storm surges from the nearby coastline flooded sections of the facility.
“It’s very bad at this time,” one porter said. “It really rough right now.”
Recalling the havoc wreaked by the island’s most devastating storm, he said, “You see the sea come in through the gate… full up de ward, the whole a de ward. We had to rescue people in de storm, inna de water.”
Noting that the water had reached knee-high levels, he said patients had to be moved from the main ward to the X-ray and ICU departments. Added to that, he said, high-force winds battered the hospital from all angles.
Large portions of the hospital’s roof were ripped off during the hurricane, leaving sections of the Accident and Emergency Department exposed. While electricity has been restored through the use of a standby generator, the building remains stiflingly hot. Electrical wires and pieces of board were also observed dangling from the roof.
STAFF DOING THEIR BEST
Despite the unbearable conditions, nurses and doctors continued to attend to patients, many of whom were seen lying on stretchers in the emergency area or seated in the waiting hall.
“We just have to do our best,” one nurse said, while another lamented the absence of “a likkle drinking water”.
Staff were observed mopping and wiping down floors as they tried to restore order. Outside, debris, including plastic and pieces of wood was piled high near the hospital’s Accident and Emergency entrance.
“If we never have good people here at the hospital, you would not see no patient here this morning because in here did full a water and debris,” the porter shared. However, he said the workers decided to stay and assist, as it made no sense to go home and sit helplessly.
“Wa we a go do?” he asked.
Another worker said they had been feeding on dry goods since Monday but chose to lend a helping hand regardless.
“A bare crackers me deh eat from Monday but caa deh wait pon food cause de kitchen gone. Bare water in de kitchen and inna de pot, everybody affi run wey lef di kitchen,” he said.
Another added, “We deh yah from Monday all now, we nuh cook, bare sea water we deh drink.”
Hospital administrators were unavailable for comment when The Gleaner visited, but staff said they hoped the Ministry of Health and Wellness would move swiftly to assess the damage and provide assistance.
“We need all the help that we can get right now fi tell you de truth,” the first porter said.
He added that the Government should equip public facilities like schools and hospitals with sturdy roofs and “cut out de cheapness,” since safety is a priority.