Hospitals and health centres are rarely regarded as architectural triumphs. Yet these are the buildings we depend upon at our most vulnerable—places where good design, reliable power and even the movement of air can become matters of life and death.
In western Jamaica, 101 health centres and several public hospitals are now to be rebuilt or modernised under the Government’s Health Hurricane Response Programme. At the centre of this ambitious undertaking is the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland, which is set to receive major upgrades.
The programme is not simply about replacing what Hurricane Melissa damaged in October last year. It represents an attempt to build something stronger, smarter and considerably better prepared for the next disaster.
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, outlined the plans during a working breakfast with Members of Parliament at the AC Marriott Hotel in New Kingston on Thursday, July 23.
Following the hurricane, the Ministry carried out urgent repairs so that healthcare services could resume. Necessary though those interventions were, Dr Tufton acknowledged that patched roofs and temporary remedies could never be mistaken for a finished solution.
“Again, we did a short-term remedial type of intervention. They are not restored to the desired standards,” he said.
And therein lies the challenge. Restoring a damaged building is one thing; reconsidering how it should function for the next generation is quite another.
Before the hurricane, the Ministry had already begun developing what it calls “smart health facilities”, supported by the Pan American Health Organization and the United Kingdom. The destruction caused by Melissa appears to have given that work a new urgency and a much broader canvas.
These new and upgraded facilities are expected to withstand specified wind conditions while incorporating improved ventilation, solar panels, backup generators, rainwater-harvesting systems and disability access.
“They are able to withstand a particular wind, there is good air flow, solar panels, backup generator, water-catching system, disability access, that kind of thing,” Dr Tufton explained.
None of these features is especially theatrical. There are no sweeping staircases or gleaming atriums here. Instead, there is something more valuable: buildings that may continue functioning when the electricity fails, the water supply becomes uncertain and hurricane-force winds arrive at the door.
Programme Director Karl McKenzie Chin said the initiative is being delivered by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to restore infrastructure and clinical services damaged across western Jamaica.
“The HHRP is a government programme being delivered by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, which is targeting the infrastructure and clinical services that were impacted in Western Jamaica due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa in October last year,” he said.
The programme will cover 101 health centres and several public hospitals across five parishes. Its work is divided into four principal areas: technical and environmental assessments; rehabilitation of the Savanna-la-Mar hospital; conversion of health facilities into smart facilities; and expansion of services through the Primary Health Care Reform Programme.
But this is not merely a construction programme. It is also an attempt to redesign the way Jamaicans use the public-health system.
Upgraded health centres are expected to provide a wider range of care, including dental treatment, mental-health support and diagnostic services. The classification of health centres will also be revised to reflect their expanded roles.
The objective is simple, even if delivering it will not be: more patients should be able to receive appropriate treatment within their communities rather than travelling automatically to already burdened hospitals.
“The typical person would generally go to the hospital, but we’re trying to change that process and ensure that the health centres offer the necessary health services so that they can get the necessary care,” Mr McKenzie Chin said.
Immediate repairs have already allowed a number of affected facilities to reopen and resume patient care. Those interventions, however, are only the beginning.
“[We] have done some immediate repairs to ensure that facilities can be reopened and that patient care can be delivered,” he said.
The real test will be whether the programme can transform emergency reconstruction into lasting reform.
A hurricane exposes the weaknesses in a building with extraordinary efficiency. It finds the vulnerable roof, the unreliable power supply and the drainage system that was never quite adequate. Yet it can also expose weaknesses in the wider system that building serves.
The Health Hurricane Response Programme offers an opportunity to address both. If delivered successfully, western Jamaica will gain more than repaired clinics and a modernised hospital. It will gain a network of healthcare buildings designed not merely to survive the next storm, but to continue serving their communities through it.
Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com
1 Comment
101 health centres is a huge number to rebuild well rather than just rebuild fast. The line about air movement and reliable power being life-or-death design decisions, not aesthetic ones, is the part that should worry anyone tempted to cut corners on the timeline.
Visit our YouTube Community ↗