Technical Assessments of Health Facilities Damaged by Hurricane Melissa in Progress

Technical assessments of health facilities damaged by Hurricane Melissa are progressing, as the Ministry of Health and Wellness advances the implementation of the Health Hurricane Response Programme (HHRP) across western Jamaica.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said engineering teams have already been deployed to assess facilities and guide reconstruction decisions.

He was addressing the HHRP Working Breakfast with Members of Parliament, held at the AC Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on July 23.

“We have already dispatched three engineering firms that have gone out and are doing technical assessments of these facilities,” Dr. Tufton said.

The Minister explained that the assessments will determine the future of affected facilities.

“Some of them will be abandoned, some of them will be totally different from what they are… and we’re now doing some drawings and estimates and all that sort of technical stuff,” he said.

Dr. Tufton said parish level consultations will follow once the assessments are completed.

“I expect in another month or so that… we will get a better sense of what is happening. And then I’ll go to these parishes and we’ll give some updates… while we maintain what we have,” he said.

For his part, Programme Director, Karl McKenzie Chin, said the initiative will be supported by several teams responsible for ensuring effective implementation.

“The… key teams constitute the programme director, management, procurement units, our internal finance team, and our technical persons,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tufton said the Ministry is also working to resolve land-related issues affecting some health facilities.

“There are some of them that are controversial and we can’t commit government resources to lands that are in dispute. Irrespective of how they came about, we have to bring clarity to them before we can advance the process any further,” he said.

Dr. Tufton said the Ministry decided to begin shortlisting contractors in advance so that projects could be assigned once the work was ready, rather than starting the procurement process at that stage, adding that 12 contractors have been shortlisted.

The Minister said community involvement will also be an important part of implementation.

Chair of the HHRP Steering Committee, David Chung, said the committee will ensure strong oversight of the programme.

“Our role is to ensure that this significant national investment is delivered with solid governance, strategic oversight, transparency of public policy, and value for money for the people of Jamaica, especially in the western parishes,” he said.