Based on the public discussions regarding Saint Jude Hospital, I can better appreciate Carl Jung’s observation that for most people thinking is difficult. To escape thought, added the legendary psychoanalyst, they simply parrot the latest line fed them. I make no claim to being especially prescient. But I relish informed and intelligent debate, especially on matters of public policy. No surprise, then, that I am at this time disappointed, depressed and downright discouraged by what passes for public policy discussion. If only for my own mental health, I offer what follows, perchance it might inspire useful dialogue among the social media experts and other spreaders of disinformation, wherever they may be!
That we are no closer to commissioning St Jude Hospital than we were on 6 June, 2016 is an acknowledged travesty. However, it is counterproductive simply to say every administration since the September 2009 fire is responsible. Such claims are analogous to blaming an entire relay team because the team was disqualified on account of the third leg dropping the baton and attempting to pick it up outside the exchange zone.
In September 2009, when fire gutted the SJH, Saint Lucia was constructing a new national hospital. Prior to that fire, nowhere in government’s contemplation were there any near-term plans to rebuild/expand the facility. Thus, there would be no financial allocations made in respect of one.
On the converse, plans for the new national hospital were almost a decade in the making. Financing for the hospital had been secured. With the concurrence of the EU, the government had decided to use the entire allocation of the 9th EDF to fund construction of the hospital. But critically, at the time of the fire Saint Lucia, like the rest of the world was grappling with the fallout from the global financial crisis. Consequently, the government could not simply go to market and raise the required financing.
In October of 2010, Hurricane Tomas destroyed significant national infrastructure, making it even more difficult to prioritize borrowing money to construct a new SJH. General elections were also imminent, typically muddying the space for policy dialogue.
Although Stephenson King’s UWP administration began construction and promised a new hospital before the elections of 2011, it was truly impractical and more wishful thinking to have expected a new hospital within that time frame.
The Kenny Anthony administration took over from where Stephenson King left off. Contractors, project management and staff were, in the main, left in place to complete the task. Of course, there were no financial allocations available to complete the task. During KDA’s term in office, there was an increase in the scope of works to ensure a modern health facility in the south of the island. No doubt the increased scope also meant increased cost, funding for which was not easily accessible. This difficulty had nothing to do with poor fiscal management on the part of KDA, but everything to do with the state of regional economies at the time. Investors were worried about the contagion effect: four of the OECS economies (Antigua, Dominica, Grenada and St Kitts) had either defaulted on their loans or had to undergo debt restructuring. There was concern that another domino would topple, given the islands’ debt ratios. However, KDA did secure funding to complete SJH.
Given the pace at which the required finances were secured, construction slowed down, but did not stop. By June 2016, SJH was at an advanced stage. Given the issues already identified, it was truly unrealistic to have expected SJH to have been commissioned at that time. But that didn’t stop politicians and their supporters from fermenting that expectation. For illustrative purposes, there was no comparable uproar or concern over the OKEU (which had been planned for, had a secured budget and commenced construction with hospital construction experts from the EU– all before 2009).
Keeping in mind all the recriminations regarding the completion of the SJH, it was neither surprising nor wrong for the Allen Chastanet administration to conduct a technical audit of the project. However, that audit need not have equated to a stoppage of the project. And certainly not for as long as three years. The technical audit, or at least the versions that made their way into the public domain, did not indicate that the project was mired in deficiencies necessitating abandonment. There were no declarations of malfeasance.
While some cite low ceilings as a basis for project abandonment, I’ve been unable to find in the audit report anything related to ceilings that were so low as to be hazardous or non-functional. As for those who insist on the contrary, none have pointed to the actual height, or whether ceilings throughout the buildings were too low to facilitate relevant services. There were no suggestions that the doors to the various rooms were below regulation height.
The proponents of the low-ceilings viewpoint, also refer to the building as an eighty-year-old facility–a facility that served as a hospital up until the 2009 fire. So, hospital services could have been provided there before the fire, with stated heights, but now the ceilings are too low? The buildings are in excess of eighteen feet high.
Some have even chosen to call the facility a chicken coop, again with reference to its dimensions. The abandoned facility had a floor area larger than that of the completed OKEU. The KDA administration claims that on June 6, 2016, the SJH was approximately 80% completed. Whether or not one chooses to accept that declaration, it is undeniable that the facility already had piping for water, electricity and medical gases.
During the cessation of the project, and with attendant fanfare, the then Minister for Economic Affairs, accompanied by police and media, sought to recover items procured for the hospital but stored off-site. The publicity stunt created the illusion that the items were stored in unauthorized areas. Since that time, there has been no public accounting of the “recovered items.” One may have assumed that with the items now in hand construction would recommence. Instead, three years after stoppage, in 2019, work on a new facility began.
The public was never informed of the estimated date of completion; neither the estimated cost. What is known is that the new construction, notwithstanding the claim that it was 70% completed, did not have completed electricals, air-conditioning lines, or medical gasses. The cumulative expenditure on the new construction was more than on the first. And yet, it was not at a more advanced stage of completion.
In June 2016, at least $27 million was available to complete the hospital. Whether that sum would have been sufficient is debatable. However, in August 2021 there were no funds available to work on the hospital. These are some of the issues that must be considered when debating or attempting to apportion blame for where we are regarding SJH.
D.Charles,
How about you offer what a useful article on the current SJH should look like. In fact write one. It feels like there are too many smart people in the room , but folks can’t put egos aside to solve problems. Accusations of political agendas and name calling gets us nowhere. Without singing Kumbaya how about those who understand what needs to be done, put egos aside and help or guide the government of the day on how to fix this problem?
Really, St Jude is the biggest political football in recent history. The previous government stated that their failure to complete the hospital contributed to their lost at the last elections, among other factors. This current government has already admitted that their political future hinges on the completion of the hospital. So against this background it is almost impossible to remove the political agendas in the acceptance of any solutions offered. The solution is to complete the hospital ASAP. What is your solution Russel Thomas.
Darrel, stop speaking around the issue/s and for once be objective. The questions you are asking of me should have surfaced during your preparations and investigations for this article. The questions you already have the answers to.
You obviously don’t know what you speak of. Point to any factual inaccuracies in my submission. So if you say I already have answers to my questions to you, how could you then say they should have surfaced in my preparations and investigations? Does that not mean I already what you suggested. Please offer intelligent responses/rebuttals
This article offers nothing new to the issues which have been discussed at length, other than being rife with political subterfuge. Please note that I am in no debate with you, and hence there is no need for a rebuttal. I am just pointing out that this article serves no important purpose, other than your political agenda, as one would expect. Your ignorance of the deviations in the original plan (immediately after the fire) clearly points to the convenient lack of knowledge on your part and thoughtlessness of this article.
The deviations in the plans is not the reason for we not having a functional hospital right now. You think it’s a political agenda, as opposed to asking not to simply blame all administrations and simply contextualise the reason. Your failure to recognize that is perhaps your own political bias at play. If there is going to be any serious policy debate, challenge any of the assertions I have made. You have not offered a counter narrative or logic for why we are where we are.
INTERESTING, you now acknowledge that there were deviations from the initial plan. I never stated that the deviations were the reason. What I stated is that the deviations are the genesis of the issue that confronts us today. Moreover, I am dumbfounded that you will state that I am politically bias, when I went further to state that the issues were perpetuated and aggravated by successive UWP and SLP governments. Darrel, for once please read attentively and comprehend what I stated and desist from responding in your usual thoughtless manner. Logically, one needs to understand and identify the origin of an issue to assist with analyzing the issue and offering any solutions. This is my point, which for obvious reasons escaped you. Secondly, if the origin of the issue/s occurred during an SLP government, as a responsible party and government the onus should be on that administration to resolve the issue, SPECIFICALLY, considering that they are now the government. That is my point. It is for this very reason that I think your article does not serve any useful purpose and is inconsequential, considering all the discussions that have taken place and points of views advanced on this issue. You continue to do what you are best known for, i.e., verbosely dealing with issues.
I am in complete agreement with D. Charles. This article reminds me of another thoughtless statement made by Darrel, i.e., callously comparing what obtains at private establishments (the banks) with the current situation at the immigration office (a public department) concerning the ongoing passport debacle. Talk about carelessness and blundering.
What is the ongoing passport debacle? Stay current please.
Oh my, there he goes again. The point you should be reflecting upon during your self-analysis period is the callous and senseless comparison you made on the media.
Darrel, the sophistry in this article is very evident. The point you and your likes choose NOT to put forward or acknowledge is that every problem has a genesis. The issues regarding the St Jude hospital started with the SLP, when there were unplanned and unapproved deviations from the initial scope of work. The issues were perpetuated and aggravated by successive SLP and UWP governments.
You speak of sophistry. What were the unplanned and unapproved deviations? Who is to approve deviations? What were the initial plans?
Darrel, stop speaking around the issue/s and for once be objective. The questions you are asking of me should have surfaced during your preparations and investigations for this article. The questions you already have the answers to.
The SJH Debacle is so sad…