- More than 25 church leaders toured the redevelopment of Cornwall Regional Hospital
- The St James Ministers Fraternal welcomed plans for a dedicated burn unit
- Upgrades include MRI and CT machines and more intensive-care beds
- The fraternal offered counselling and psychosocial support for hospital staff
Church leaders in Montego Bay have given their backing to the rebuilding of Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH). More than 25 clergy toured the hospital’s redevelopment, and at a press conference at Burchell Baptist Church, Rev Glendon Powell, head of the St James Ministers Fraternal, hailed plans for a burn unit, the Gleaner reported on September 21, 2026.
“What interests me a lot is that we are now going to have a burn unit that is something that was missing for a long time. If we have somebody burned 90 per cent or 80 per cent, they have to be flown away to the United States or somewhere else,” Powell said. Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton had said in February that Jamaica treats more than 1,000 burn victims a year at public facilities, but some severe cases need overseas referral.
Dr Delroy Fray, clinical coordinator at the Western Regional Health Authority, said the burn unit was first announced in March 2023 as part of CRH’s expanded services. “What we need now is the physical facility to implement such a unit and that is on the drawing board and will be implemented,” he said. The clergy were shown preparations for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography machines, a central sterilisation facility and an increase in intensive-care beds from five to seven.
“We have a good way to go with that hospital, but what we have seen completed so far, we are [getting] a first-world hospital,” Powell said. The fraternal offered to provide counselling and psychosocial support for staff as well as patients.
For anyone living in, or planning to move back to, western Jamaica, the state of the region’s main hospital is part of the property equation. Specialist care close to home matters to families, retirees and returning residents choosing where to settle, and investment in a major public building supports confidence in the area around it. The clergy’s tour also shows churches taking an interest in how public money is spent on local infrastructure, and offering their own people to help run it well.
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