Health Ministry Allocated $6.43B Capital Budget for 2023/24

• The Ministry of Health and Wellness has been provided with a capital budget of approximately $6.43Bn for the fiscal year 2023/24. This represents a 31% increase over last year’s allocation, according to Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton. He made the disclosure during his 2023/24 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives, on Wednesday (May 3).
• Tufton, in providing a breakdown of programmed engagements in progress, said work on the Western Children and Adolescent Hospital in St. James has advanced to the fifth floor, with more than $450 million spent, so far, through a grant provided by the People’s Republic of China. “We are slated for completion in 2025. When completed, the facility will boast the only adolescent hospital in the English-Speaking Caribbean and the second paediatric facility on the island,” he informed.
• Regarding the Spanish Town Hospital, ground-breaking is scheduled for July 2023 at a contract price of some $6.4 billion to be spent over two years. He noted that consequent on these investments, the Spanish Town Hospital’s services will be expanded to include Cardiology, Haematology/Oncology, Ophthalmology, and Otolaryngology (ENT).
• Tufton also advised that the Cornwall Regional Hospital’s renovation is in the final stages of completion. “The final phase will commence in a month or two. There is a $14-billion expenditure associated with that and we expect that will begin to reoccupy the main building by the end of this year, right through the year 2024,” the Minister said.
• The Minister informed that since 2018, more than 100 health facilities islandwide have benefited from significant investments totalling approximately $4.4 billion, which have served to right-size and renew primary healthcare institutions.

(Source: JIS)