“We are experiencing a smooth transition from the existing Scarborough Regional Hospital to the new Scarborough General Hospital,” said the Division of Health and Social Services Secretary Claudia Groome-Duke at the Executive Council Media Briefing on Wednesday (April 18, 2012).
“The following outpatient clinics are now available at the new Scarborough General Hospital. Gynecology and Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Developmental Pediatrics, General Surgery, Urology, Internal Medicine, General Medicine, Nephrology, Hematology, Dermatology, and Rheumatology. And I want the public to note that the Eye and Orthopedic Clinics are still at the Scarborough Regional Hospital.”
Other services that are available at the new Scarborough General Hospital are CAT scans, mammography screenings, bone density scans, fluoroscopy and ultrasound. The mortuary is also operational.
The Health Secretary said ninety-seven patients were seen on April 11th, forty-five on April 12th, and fifty-nine on April 13th, 2012.
The Health Secretary said she had received a document from NIPDEC the day before regarding the construction cost of the new hospital which stated that $155.6 million had been paid to NH International Caribbean Limited for the first hospital contract. NIPDEC indicated this figure could be reduced by $2 million since the company had won in arbitration against NH International Caribbean Limited. The Chinese Railway Construction Limited company had a contract for $477.7 million which included an increased scope of services that were not part of the initial NHIC construction contract. These services included a new biomedical centre, the expansion of the accident and emergency ward, and the installation of furniture and fixtures. This brought the building total for the new hospital to $633.3 million
During the briefing, the Secretary of Finance and Enterprise Development Dr Anselm London said the Tobago Regional Health Authority had been allocated $281 million by Parliament, of which $100 million was still due to the THA.
The Finance Secretary said after months of back and forth, the money had not been received, presenting a strain to the TRHA and the Assembly. He noted that the THA was concerned about remarks the Minister of Tobago Development Vernelle Alleyne Toppin recently made on air expressing uncertainty of whether the money will come to Tobago, which went against statements made by Finance Minister Winston Dookeran. Dookeran said the Assembly could apply for the money again.
“This is not a gift to Tobago. It is decision made by Parliament,” Dr London said. He indicated that if the funds were not received, it would be equaled to a 5.55% reduction in Tobago’s allocation, which the Assembly could not afford. It would also be a violation of the terms of the Dispute Resolution Commission because the allocation to Tobago was exactly 4.03 percent. He indicated that he hoped Minister Toppin’s comments were inaccurate.
The following are the hours of services provided at the Scarborough General Hospital. All services are by appointment or referral system between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic will be open all day on Mondays and on Wednesdays in the afternoon. The Pediatrics Clinic will be opened on Tuesday mornings, Developmental Pediatrics on Friday mornings, General Surgery on Thursday mornings, Urology on Fridays from 2:00 p.m, Internal Medicine on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday mornings, Nephrology on Wednesday mornings, the Hematology Clinic will be opened on the first and second Friday in the mornings, Dermatology on the first Tuesday of the month in the mornings, and the Rheumatology Clinic on the first Friday in the mornings.
The Secretary said the public could call 660-4744 for further information.