Healthcare services at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) are set to be revolutionised with the construction of a new ring road to facilitate the phased development of five medical towers at the Type-A hospital.

The Government of Jamaica is set to spend some J$278 million in phase one of the project.

“Today, we sign a contract for $278 million, phase one which will be to realign the ring road, to demolish some old buildings. I believe the doctors used to live in them for emergency specialists to make way for a green field, meaning a clear area in which we can construct this wonderful six-storey building which will have important purposes; operating, surgery and ward spaces and specialist services, and will improve the healthcare that Jamaicans have access to,” explained Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

He was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony for the UHWI ring road rerouting project at the hospital on Tuesday, February 20.

“The current hospital infrastructure with its ageing buildings and inefficient lay out poses numerous challenges from maintenance issues to overcrowded departments, the need for comprehensive redevelopment is evident. The proposed redevelopment aim address these challenges while modernising facilities, enhancing departmental synergy and expanding critical care services. The incorporation of modern technologies and the provisions of state of the art facilities will further elevate the hospital’s status and capabilities ensuring that the UHWI remains a centre of excellence in the region. Today, this contract signing and groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of a transformative chapter in the history of the University Hospital of the West Indies,” Holness added.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says the project signals the renewal of public health in Jamaica.

“Today is really a good day for us because it is a continuation of a number of tangible initiatives by this Holness-led administration, which signals in a very tangible way the renewal of public health in Jamaica. Public health infrastructure in the first instance but there are so many other things that are happening.

Over the last few months, just to demonstrate how tangible it is, we had the historic launch of the electronic health records at the May Pen Hospital, we turn on, not a contract. If you go to May Pen Hospital the entire system is electronic. From registration to patient care, seeing the doctor, to operations, everything is logged, not in a room in a tangible file and that’s historic. It is the start of a process,” he said.

Similarly, Tufton said a multibillion-dollar contract is now in effect for the redevelopment of the Spanish Town Hospital.

These high-rise towers to be constructed at the hospital are part of a strategic initiative to upgrade existing medical facilities, accommodating the growing healthcare needs of the public over the medium to long term.

“When the hospital was originally built, we were in the area of tropical medicine and tropical diseases. Essentially the hospital was built in sprawl and so what has happened is we have reached the limit, the usage of space in the hospital. So, we have no other free land where we can bring modern technologies to transform the hospital as the chairman said.

“What we now have to start doing to get a modern hospital, we have to start building 6 to 8 towers and each of these towers will have a specialist area, so our concept is like an airport, you have a concourse and different terminals that you go in and that terminal could be paediatric, obstetrics, delivery, neonatal care so the master plan for us is for 6 to 8 towers,” explained Dr Carl Bruce, UHWI medical chief of staff.

He added that while construction is taking place for the project, accommodation will be made available at the The University of the West Indies.