Another PP promise kept; 230-bed children's hospital for Preysal

New children's hospital complex to be built in Preysal, Couva - courtesy UDeCOTT

Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar will deliver the feature address Friday at the sod turning ceremony for a new children's hospital to be located at Preysal in Central Trinidad, just off the new interchange.

Other speakers at the ceremony, which begins at 10 in the morning, include the MP for the area, People Minister Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh, Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan and UDeCOTT chair, Jearlean John.

The hospital is one of several new facilities that the People's Partnership government has promised to build at different locations in Trinidad & Tobago.

The hospital will stand on a 60 acre site on lands from the former Caroni (1975) Limited. The Geotechnical Borings have been completed and experts are working on the preliminary design.

Funding for the institution is through a Government to Government arrangement with China. The Ministry of Health is reviewing the Memorandum of Agreement (MOU), which will be signed by UDeCOTT.

It's expected that the hospital will be completed by March 2015.

The Children’s Hospital will include a Multi-Training Centre for Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacology. It will be a self-contained, centralized medical facility equipped with the most modern and high-end medical equipment.

When completed it will have:

• 230 Beds
• A Burns Care Unit
• A Central Pharmacy
• Children’s and Adult’s Casualty Clinic
• Helicopter Rooftop Access for Emergencies

There will also be a housing facility to serve as a hotel, guest house or residence as well as a shopping mall. The institution will be an integral part of the development of Health Care Tourism in Trinidad & Tobago.

The project is proposed to be a Design-Finance-Construct model.