A blessing ceremony was held this week to mark the completion of refurbishment works at the former Margetson Memorial Home.
The building in St John’s has been retrofitted to act as a temporary home for Glendon Hospital’s laboratory, medical records, pharmacy, catering, laundry, and auxiliary departments.
Meanwhile, the previous site that accommodated these services will be demolished to allow for work to begin on Montserrat’s new national hospital.
The special ceremony took place inside the refurbished building on 4 September and featured talks from several attendees, music, prayers and ended with a tour of the facility.
Camille Thomas-Gerald, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health and Social Services, hosted the ceremony and Father Joel St Rose conducted the blessing.
Along with the former care home, he also blessed several new pieces of hospital equipment including a CT scanner and a mammography suite.
‘A significant success’
Speaking during the event Governor Sarah Tucker said it is “a significant success and a positive development for Montserrat”.
“These long term investments are critical for the long term sustainability and development of our wonderful island,” she said.
“But big projects take time, they take significant funding, and most of all, they take a lot of hard work for a lot of people.
“I’d like to commend everyone who has been involved with the project, who I know will continue with the progression of this site to modern medical facilities.”
She said it is reassuring to know that Montserrat is getting modern equipment and buildings to allow medical teams to deliver the very highest quality healthcare.
The governor added: “I look forward to returning when spades go into the ground later this year for the new hospital.”
Necessary tools
During his speech, Premier Joseph E Farrell said he is committed to giving medical professionals the exposure and training needed for them to remain up to date in the industry.
“We are dedicated to giving you the necessary tools and the trade so you can provide our community with top notch healthcare,” he said.
Farrell said his government will also continue to look at improving pay packages and working conditions for healthcare professionals to keep them in Montserrat.
Health minister Charles Kirnon stressed that it has been almost 30 years that Montserrat has been trying to establish a good healthcare system and build a hospital.
He assured attendees that before the new hospital is built “we are making sure… we have the equipment to go in it”, and he thanked all those involved.
Arlene Ponteen, director of secondary healthcare, also offered thanks to everyone who is supporting the development of Montserrat’s healthcare sector.
A joint effort
The Ministry of Health and Social Services announced the start of refurbishments 13 December, last year.
Montserrat-based construction company, Harewood Construction, was responsible for the works which were overseen by the ministry and the Programme Management Office.
It is all part of the new hospital project which the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office provided the funding for as part of the Capital Investment Programme for Resilient Economic Growth.
Once the new hospital has been completed, the services that have been moved to the refurbished care home will be relocated to their permanent locations.
Click below to watch the blessing ceremony in full:
