May Pen Hospital outpatient unit on track for completion next year

Construction of the $642-million outpatient department at May Pen Hospital is progressing on schedule and remains on track for completion next year, a development expected to expand healthcare services, increase bed capacity, and create more than 180 jobs in Clarendon.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton provided the update on Wednesday following a tour of the construction site. He described the project as a major investment in the parish’s healthcare infrastructure that will improve access to specialised services while easing longstanding capacity constraints at the hospital.

“I’m happy to report that, based on what I’ve seen, this 10,000 square foot facility is on track, on target. The work is going very smoothly, with an anticipation of a completion next year, both in terms of construction and also equipping for full functionality,” Tufton said.

The facility is being developed under the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ Health Systems Strengthening Programme (HSSP). It will provide expanded outpatient services, including additional consultation rooms, laboratory facilities, imaging services, digital X-ray and mammography, as well as a minor operating theatre capable of performing day surgeries.

Tufton said the new building would ease pressure on the main hospital by relocating some services, freeing space for an estimated 40 to 50 additional in-patient beds. The expansion could increase the hospital’s capacity from about 155 beds to roughly 200.

The minister added that the facility is expected to create more than 180 jobs for doctors, nurses, specialists, administrators and other support staff.

“It also will have very tangible implications for the parish,” Tufton said.

Ground was broken for the project in July 2025, with completion targeted within 16 months of the contractor’s mobilisation. The project is being executed by Jiangsu Zhenhuai Construction Group Co Ltd under the HSSP.

Senior medical officer at May Pen Hospital Dr Curtis Pryce said the expansion would strengthen diagnostic and treatment services while improving patient throughput.

“This project is going to add significant quality to our institution -- the bed capacity, patient turnover, efficiency of the service, additional services that are going to be added, the diagnostic services, dealing with all the chronic communicable conditions, the cancers, and that sort of thing,” Pryce said.

He added: “It’s definitely going to add a lot of quality, not just to our parish, but our adjoining parishes all around.”

Member of Parliament for Clarendon Central Delroy Williams welcomed the development, noting that its benefits would extend beyond healthcare through job creation and increased economic activity.

“This is great. Great for the parish. You’ll also get reduction in wait time [at the hospital], [and] additional benefits in terms of employment within the parish. Health services are critical and tied to economic growth and commerce. So, it’s also going to help as we develop the economy of the parish,” Williams said.

Michael Stern, chairman of the Southern Regional Health Authority, said the additional space would help address longstanding challenges related to bed shortages, patient flow and access to services.

“We’re happy for the extra space, because we saw, over a period, we have been having a bed issue. With the addition of this [facility], we shall see more operations being done,” Stern said.

Meanwhile, Tufton described ongoing investments in health infrastructure across Clarendon and Jamaica as the most significant transformation of the sector since Independence, arguing that the scale and complexity of the projects require careful planning and execution.

“Because we have not been doing this over many years, it is this Government under (Prime Minister) [Dr] Andrew Holness that has brought the most revolutionary radical change to health infrastructure than any other government since Independence. That is just obvious. Nobody can challenge it,” he said.

Tufton added that healthcare infrastructure projects require specialised considerations beyond ordinary construction.

“You have to choose material carefully, and you have to have airflow stability, you have to have machines and equipment that require certain electricity generation, oxygen that has to be piped in.”

He said the improvements in Clarendon form part of a wider national programme that includes developments at Spanish Town Hospital, the University Hospital of the West Indies, Cornwall Regional Hospital and other facilities.

“We are changing the face of healthcare from an infrastructure capacity standpoint, both in terms of adding more people, adding more diagnostic, adding more beds, adding more clinics,” he said.

Tufton added that plans are advancing for two new health centres in May Pen East and May Pen West.

olivia.brown@gleanerjm.com