The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

HEALTH officials say the long-delayed Accident and Emergency redevelopment at Princess Margaret Hospital is finally nearing full occupancy, with the government now projecting that the newly renovated department will be completely operational within the next six weeks.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said construction work on the A&E facility is finished and that the remaining delay centres on the phased movement of staff, beds, furniture and equipment into the space, a cautious transition after years of missed timelines.

He said parts of the department are already in use, with clinical teams determining how best to complete the move without disrupting care.

“I could tell you, the paediatric section is in, the intensive care section is in, but we need to move in chest ward and all these other areas, but we leave that to the professional teams to determine how they would occupy. That is happening and very soon, that will be completed, and the residents of New Providence and The Bahamas will be able to access this fully,” he said.

Once the A&E transition is complete, Dr Darville said work will begin on renovating the older emergency spaces, along with other long-needed upgrades across the hospital.

“The spaces where patients are now, once the accident and emergency is completely occupied, we intend now to go in there and to renovate those spaces, along with the renovations for the kitchen, the renovations for the legacy ward and the flooring in the theatres at the Princess Margaret Hospital. So there is a large sum of funding that's been allocated, finally, to get the necessary renovations done.”

The update comes after years of frustration over the stalled project. The A&E upgrade was announced in 2023 and initially billed as a transformative fix for chronic overcrowding and deteriorating conditions, but it repeatedly slipped past earlier completion targets.

Officials acknowledged late last year that the project had been held up by technical setbacks, including problems with a critical airflow and cooling system, known as the DX unit, as well as delays in equipment and furnishings.

Public Hospitals Authority Managing Director Aubynette Rolle previously said the move into the new department could not happen all at once, with emergency services required to transition in stages to protect patient safety.

“On November 10, we did do a partial move already that takes care of what we call the acute patients,” she said earlier. “So, we have those patients with observations, cardiology, all of that and that worked out well.”

She added that the final hurdle had been the arrival and installation of specialised furniture and equipment, particularly for paediatrics.

Beyond A&E, Dr Darville said contracts are about to be awarded under the CIBC loan facility for additional hospital upgrades, including the kitchen, legacy wards, a new dialysis unit, the eye ward and IT areas. Plans also include an adolescent unit with a dedicated elevator shaft linking Accident and Emergency directly to the ICU, allowing patients to move through the hospital without going outdoors.

He added that some ward roof areas require further assessment, with quantity surveyors currently scoping the work and costs.