'Rushed conclusions and decisions' contributed to CRH renovation delays - Tufton

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has admitted that the Ministry of Health did not fully understand from the start how to address the issues affecting the St James-based Cornwall Regional Hospital [CRH], contributing to the six-year span of the hospital's restoration and its current $10.5 billion cost.

During a press conference at the CRH on Friday, Tufton said that his ministry's focus on what was assumed to be the primary problem, namely the replacement of the Type A hospital's ventilation system, led to discovery of the actual issue of mould growth in the building's infrastructure.

“What we have is a moving target and an adjustment that, I appreciate, would have created some credibility issues in terms of how people perceive the problem and what the solution was. In other words, sometimes it would have appeared that we were not sure what we were doing,” said Tufton.

He continued: "I am prepared to say that, yes, we were unsure in many cases, because the process was a process that sought to address a crisis while recognising the crisis of serving the people at the same time, and that dual approach created a lot of rushed conclusions and decisions.”

Last month, the Ministry of Health announced that the CRH restoration project would cost $10.5 billion to complete, more than double the $5.8 billion which had previously been earmarked for the facility's rehabilitation.

Opposition Spokesman on Health Dr Morais Guy had asserted last year May that the project would cost upwards of $10 to $12 billion to complete.

The problems at the CRH began in 2017 when noxious fumes resulted in services having to be relocated from the hospital's first three floors.

-Christopher Thomas

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