New Sept deadline for long-delayed parent suite at Bustamante Hospital

Expressing disappointment over construction delays, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has announced a September deadline for completion of the overnight-stay suite for parents at the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC) in St Andrew.

“It is concerning to me that the facility has taken so long to be completed. Everybody knows that the deadlines are well past,” Tufton said during a site visit on Thursday.

The $120-million project, which broke ground in 2021, was initially scheduled for completion in 2023. Funded by the National Health Fund and the National Housing Trust (NHT), the 30-room facility is being developed in collaboration with the South East Regional Health Authority.

Delays stemmed from issues with a previous NHT contractor and internal debates over whether the building should be repurposed as a paediatric cardiac ward. In April last year, the Government confirmed that the structure would retain its original purpose, targeting summer 2024 for completion.

Tufton noted that a new contractor was brought on board and he was informed that the building was now 98 per cent complete.

“We are going to hold them to it – The NHT, that is project-managing the process – and hopefully, we will have this overnight suite in place for family members,” he said on Thursday.

The current construction is considered Phase One, with future expansions planned for paediatric cardiac care, oncology, and general paediatrics.

Visiting policy

Tufton also announced that the ministry is reviewing the hospital’s visiting policy to potentially allow parents more time with their hospitalsed children.

A petition launched last year by a parent advocating for 24-hour visiting hours at the BHC has gathered more than 25,000 signatures.

“What we would need to do is to work out that protocol, which I have asked my team at the ministry to look at. If not start fully – or certainly not start with a 24-hour cycle – start with a longer cycle than what is allowed in visitation hours,” he said.

However, he said that certain conditions such as space and sanitary conveniences would have to be established in order to facilitate this.

“You want to ensure that patient care and the delivery are not impeded or affected by the presence of a family member,” he said.

“In the jurisdictions where it occurs, family members are allowed to do certain things that actually take the stress off the nurse who is on duty. They help to feed the patient, for example. They may even help to clean the patients … under certain guidelines,” he added.

BHC Senior Medical Officer Dr Michelle-Ann Richards-Dawson said parents, currently, can stay overnight in a small on-site facility with only six rooms, each costing $500 per night. Priority is given to out-of-town families, who are also provided with basic amenities.

She acknowledged that while the hospital aims to support family presence, the appropriate facilities need to be in place.

“We try to allow parents to stay as long as possible with children, but overnight is an issue because we don’t have space. Otherwise, they are going to be on the outside, and that’s not necessarily safe,” she said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com