The Saint Lucia Medical and Dental Association (SLMDA) is hopeful that St. Jude Hospital (SJH) will ‘rise again’, after a devastating fire over a decade ago.
Three people perished in the blaze.
The SLMDA’s expression of hope for SJH came in a statement marking the fire’s fifteenth anniversary.
The complete statement appears below:
Today September 9th, marks Fifteen years since the devastating fire which destroyed parts of St Jude Hospital forcing an emergency move to the George Odlum Stadium, which was meant to temporarily house health services.
Fifteen years, we as a nation continue to wait. Fifteen years our collective souls weep. We however remain hopeful. Hopeful that our leaders across the board will understand the complexities of healthcare and prioritise it. Hopeful that we all will truly give credence to the statement “a healthy nation is a wealthy nation” and take individual and collective responsibility for our health and wellbeing. Hopeful that St Jude will rise again. We recognize and commend the commitment and dedication of staff who have provided exemplary service under conditions which can best be described as inadequate and subpar. You truly are the unsung heroes of this unfortunate story. We continue to stand with you and with every Saint Lucian who has had to seek care at the facility. We will soon welcome home our triumphant Olympian Julien Alfred. What better time to expedite the move out of the stadium and a return of said facility to our athletes? What better time to expedite the move to the new St Jude Hospital. We are cognizant of the fact that a building does not a hospital make, we therefore urge those responsible to ensure that preparations are in place for a full transition to the new hospital. That all stakeholders are fully engaged and apprised of the progress of said transition as failure to do so will inevitably result in a compromised process and by extension, compromised delivery of healthcare to our citizens. The eyes of the world are on us. The hopes and dreams of a nation for better healthcare remain unrealized. We cannot afford to wait any longer. We have waited fifteen years. It is time to reopen St Jude Hospital. A climate resilient, fully functional St Jude. We the people will accept no less. The SLMDA stands ready and willing to do our part to ensure a successful transition. Our commitment to you the citizens of Saint Lucia, is unwavering and we will continue to advocate on your behalf. It is time for St Jude to rise from the ashes. It is time!
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