The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS


Tribune Staff Reporter


lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE long-awaited reopening of Princess Margaret Hospital's kitchen has been delayed by a newly discovered sewage and drainage problem expected to cost about $5 million to fix, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville revealed yesterday.

The hospital's kitchen has been out of service for more than a year after it was deemed unsafe, forcing the Public Hospitals Authority to outsource meal preparation while patients and staff continue to wait for the facility to reopen.

Health officials previously said they hoped the renovation would be completed by the middle of 2025, but the deadline has passed.

Dr Darville said engineers uncovered the ageing sewage and septic system while preparing to begin renovations to the kitchen and Legacy Ward, delaying the launch of the kitchen contract.

“The septic system and the drainage that is at the Princess Margaret Hospital is old. It’s at the end of its life, and we have to put in a new system in order for the septic system to work, which drains into Shirley Street,” he said.

“This is a major challenge that we just found. It delayed the awarding of the contract for the kitchen because we had to have a proper septic system in order for the hospital to function effectively.”

He said the government has decided against repairing the existing system because of its age and condition and will instead construct a new sewage and drainage network alongside it before connecting the hospital.

“We already have our engineers looking at the current sewage drainage system. We have Veritas, who is now quantifying the cost for the repairs. We’ve made a decision that we would not touch that system. We will create another system parallel to that system and connect the hospital to it. It’s too expensive to repair the old antiquated sewage drainage system that exists that was built in the 50s.”

Dr Darville said the additional work is expected to cost about $5 million, separate from the renovations already planned for the kitchen, Legacy Ward and dialysis unit.

“As it stands right now, the cost is around $5 million just to do the repair. That’s outside of the repairs for the kitchen, the Legacy Ward, and the dialysis. We’re finding additional costs, and this is the same challenge I had when we started to do the work at the accident emergency.

“You scope a section of work, and then as you begin to do the work, you realise there are some things that were missed. This is an incidental finding to the necessary repairs for the kitchen and the legacy ward, and we must get it done in order for the Princess Margaret Hospital to function effectively,” Dr Darville said.

The prolonged closure of the kitchen has generated repeated complaints from patients. Since the facility was shut down because of health and safety concerns, meals have been prepared off-site and transported to the hospital, while employees have also been without an operational cafeteria.

Last month, Dr Darville defended the government’s decision to pursue construction of a second tertiary hospital in New Providence despite continuing investment in Princess Margaret Hospital. He said Princess Margaret Hospital, which was built in the 1950s, is nearing the end of its operational life and has become increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain.

Last month, Dr Darville said funding through the government’s CIBC loan had already been allocated for renovation to the kitchen, Legacy Ward and a new dialysis unit. At the same time, he acknowledged that ongoing upgrades to the hospital’s operating theatres had temporarily disrupted elective surgeries, although emergency surgical services remained available.