London expects new Scarborough hospital in 2006

London told Newsday that this was one of several issues which he discussed with Health Minister John Rahael at a meeting at the ministry’s Park Street headquarters in Port-of-Spain last week.

Stating that he would be very disappointed if the project was not completed next year, the Chief Secretary said the purpose of the meeting with Rahael was to discuss and devise strategies to ensure that the project moved forward in a timely and efficient manner.

London said there remained many issues (including cost, management and procurement) about the project that needed to be consistently reviewed. He also said he had been in regular communication with Rahael on those issues since it was the people of the sister isle who would ultimately benefit from the new hospital.

At a May 19 post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall, Rahael said the National Insurance and Property Development Company (Nipdec) was working with the Canadian company Turner Construction and architecture firm Stantec to move the project forward. While Nipdec had come under fire for cost overruns on the $134 million project, Rahael said Government felt Nipdec should remain part of the team since it had been involved in the project since its inception.

The minister also said Government was exploring whether the architect or contractor was liable for cost overruns on the project. He said there was no confusion about who was managing the project. "Turner is in there assessing the job and they will provide us with a report and when we get that report, we will do the necessary assessment and draft up the necessary contract," Rahael said.

Junior Finance Minister Conrad Enill said delays and overruns on the project could have been the result of initial poor planning.

London also said that he discussed matters pertaining to the operations of the Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) and the provision of doctors and nurses to Tobago. Explaining that the latter function is handled primarily by the Health Ministry, the Chief Secretary said one option being explored was the ability of the THA to recruit medical personnel for Tobago. Since 2001, foreign medical personnel have been recruited by the ministry to fill critical gaps in the health sector and some of them, particularly the Cubans, have been assigned to work in hospitals in Tobago.

At a recent Health Ministry/Pan American Health Organisation HIV/ AIDS stakeholders meeting at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel at Invaders Bay, regional HIV/AIDS director for Tobago, Dr Ray Noel said the TRHA had applied for a $14.1 million budgetary allocation for its 2005/2006 HIV/AIDS programme. Rahael indicated that the ministry would address this and other concerns which were outlined by Noel.