Staff at the newly rebuilt St Jude Hospital are gradually settling into their new home, with departments beginning operations as new equipment arrives and workers complete training.
A month after contractor Rayneau handed over the building to the Ministry of Health, the phased commissioning has been slowed in part by port delays affecting the arrival and installation of equipment.
While the St Jude Board of Directors could not be reached at the time of publication, Communications Director Jade Brown spoke with St. Lucia Times on December 5. She said the physiotherapy unit is already up and running and treating patients, while other administrative and staff areas are coming into use as the transition continues.
Kitchen staff began moving to the new facility on December 3 and 4 after receiving training to operate the entirely new equipment. They are expected to begin running the kitchen later this month, at which point the department will be formally commissioned.
“So what you will see now is a transition of the department from the stadium over to the new site,” Brown said.
Other areas already commissioned include upper-management administrative offices — the first department to move as part of a strategy Brown says helps facilitate the wider transition. The finance team has also relocated, as has the laundry department, where staff have been trained and are now operating on the new site.
“We want to ensure that these departments are stable, they are ready for our clients, so that at the time when we move our clients in, we have no hiccups,” Brown said. “All of the training, all orientation, the staff are getting familiar with the new equipment. Every single piece of equipment is new. I don’t think that we’re bringing anything over, as you would know. The equipment over at the stadium is all aged.”
On physiotherapy services, she noted: “We’re seeing a steady stream of clients coming in for treatment as we would at the stadium. Nothing has really changed per se. We’re not seeing any more or any less clients than we would at the stadium.”
She added that as equipment is installed, additional departments will be commissioned. So far, she said, there have been no “insurmountable challenges”.
Brown confirmed delays linked to Hurricane Melissa, which affected the shipment of several containers. “That kind of pushed our timelines, and I think that’s a big reason why we cannot give a definite date as to, okay, this is the day that the hospital will be fully commissioned,” she said. “We are dependent on the shipment companies…. So it’s not something that we are in control of.”
Several containers are now on island and are being de-stuffed, with installation underway. Brown noted that the equipment available in these containers will determine which department is commissioned next. She emphasised that outpatient clinics and administrative functions remain priorities at this stage.
“It is important to note that we want to take care of outpatient clinics. We want to take care of in-house matters like admin…. We want to ensure that everything is ready for them,” she said. “We want when the clients come into the hospital that everything is fully functional. All of the services that they require are fully functional.”
Brown also confirmed that the reconstructed St Jude Hospital will include new or expanded facilities, such as a CT scan service and larger maternity and paediatric units. “We want to ensure that everything is in place before patients come in,” she said.
Responding to public scrutiny surrounding the project, Brown said, “We understand that people would like to see the patients in the hospital. That is what we want as well. But there is a process to everything.”
She added that although the buildings are complete, the contractor must remain on-site. “He has to remain on-site because he is the one who is receiving the equipment, and he will be the de-stuffing, storing, installing and training. That is part of his contractual agreement as well.”
Brown insisted that the only reliable sources of information on the hospital’s progress are the Ministry of Health or St Jude Hospital itself.
