Golding rips Gov’t over CRH’s decade of delays

WESTERN BUREAU:

Opposition Leader Mark Golding has demanded accountability for the nearly decade-long rehabilitation of Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St James, describing the unfinished facility as a “monument to delays, escalating costs and incompetent execution”.

Golding, who was addressing the People’s National Party’s (PNP) 88th Annual Conference at Independence Park in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, on Sunday, questioned how a project initially estimated at approximately $2 billion could have climbed to $23.5 billion while western Jamaica continues to wait for its major referral hospital to be fully restored.

“Where does the buck stop [with] for that debacle, prime minister?” Golding asked, directing the question at Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness.

“Western Jamaica deserves a fully functioning regional hospital, but its only major hospital, Cornwall Regional, has been substantially out of service for nearly a decade, and the refurbishment project is still not finished,” he charged.

The CRH rehabilitation has been one of western Jamaica’s longest-running infrastructure projects, following the relocation of several services from the main building after air-quality problems emerged in 2017.

Golding also zeroed in on the proposed 10,000-square-foot medical dome, which is intended to provide additional capacity as the hospital moves towards restoring services.

“There was supposed to be a 10,000-square-foot medical dome, and it was promised months ago, and is still not installed on site,” he said.

The dome, which is expected to provide capacity for about 100 beds, was announced in February as an interim measure to strengthen emergency healthcare capacity in western Jamaica. By March, The Gleaner reported that its base had been completed but the dome itself had yet to arrive.

His criticism came as he outlined the fourth of five promises that, he said, would underpin a future PNP administration, including building public services that work for ordinary Jamaicans.

THREAT TO LIVES

Golding broadened his attack beyond the CRH, arguing that conditions throughout the public health system continue to leave patients facing lengthy waits, inadequate bed space and disruptions to critical services.

He said Jamaicans were sometimes told that they needed to be admitted to hospital, only to discover that no beds were available.

“You might end up sleeping in a wheelchair or cardboard on the floor,” he said.

Golding also alleged that operating theatres at some public facilities have been rendered unusable at times because of malfunctioning air-conditioning systems or mould.

“These are serious threats to the lives of our people,” he said.

The Opposition leader pledged that a PNP government would complete outstanding health infrastructure projects and introduce a national health insurance scheme in phases, beginning with children, senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

He also promised greater investment in primary healthcare, arguing that stronger intervention at the community level could prevent illnesses from progressing to emergencies requiring hospital treatment.

Golding linked health outcomes to food insecurity, telling supporters that too many Jamaicans were unable to afford adequate nutrition.

Under what he described as the PNP’s EASE programme, he said school meals would be provided to every child who requires assistance.

The Opposition leader nevertheless reserved some of his strongest criticism for the CRH, placing the unfinished rehabilitation at the centre of his argument that western Jamaica has been short-changed in the delivery of essential public services.

For residents across St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, Trelawny and neighbouring parishes who depend on the Type A referral hospital, Golding said the issue was ultimately about more than construction deadlines and escalating expenditure.

He said it was also about whether western Jamaicans could depend on the public health system when they needed it most.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com