Warmington provides backstory behind new Old Harbour Health Centre

Over the last decade several theories have been banded about with no clear direction until recently.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton was the first high official to speak in detail of plans to build a new health centre in Old Harbour which falls under a broader national comprehensive health systems strengthening programme funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and European Union (EU).

Dr Tufton, speaking at an open house and exhibition of the new Old Harbour Health Centre, disclosed that they are closer to breaking ground some time in 2023 with the project set to go to tender next month.

Such comments represent the proverbial light emerging at the end of a tunnel, a significant milestone of a journey that Member of Parliament Everald Warmington knows about very well.
In his remarks at the exhibition hosted at the Lions Civic Centre on Wednesday, Warmington, MP of the constituency since 2002, provided an interesting backstory to get to this stage.

Said Warmington: “I can say in 2007 I made representation to then Prime Minister Bruce Golding for him, as Minister of Lands, to make available the property here for a new health centre because I felt then that before I leave this constituency I should leave a proper health centre, a high school and the correction to the Big Pond drainage system.

“We are working on the Big Pond drainage system. Phase Two will start shortly with the bridge at Myton Gully, the new high school at Colbeck is well advance in planning and its design.

“We have or the ministry has completed the design for this new health centre. In 2008 the land was transferred to the St Catherine Health Department and Prime Minister Golding had given instruction to the UDC (Urban Development Corporation) to commence the design and all the professional aspects of the project.

“So in collaboration with the health department and the Ministry of Health, they started and completed the design for what I think was a Type III (health Centre) for what was then valued at $370 million after which the health department wanted a Type V. They did a new design for a Type V (health centre) which they said would cost $712 million. The Type V (health centre) was supposed to include maternity ward, a lot of other areas where it would take a lot of burden off Spanish Town and May Pen hospitals. So in this last stage now after all the planning and designs were done, the Ministry of Health and the health department saw it fit to dump the UDC and its drawings. I was surprise when I see that they got new people to do new design from scratch after the UDC did all of that work free of cost. At the last stage the UDC asked for payment for the work done and I guess that’s the reason why the health department dropped them because it was free under (Bruce) Golding and them want to make money under Andrew Holness.

“I understand that what we now have is no longer a Type V but a Type IV, but even a Type III we would be grateful for it because it is something that we badly need. So on behalf of the people of South West St Catherine I want to [say] thanks, thanks to members of the health team, the ministry of health and the health department for at least recognizing the need of South West St Catherine and to assist us to finally have a proper health centre for the people of this area.”

When complete, the Old Harbour Health Centre will have the capacity to serve in excess of 200 people in a single day and meet the growing demand of the population up to the year 2041.