Monday marked the 15th anniversary of the devastating fire at St. Jude Hospital (SJH), with Vieux Fort residents intensifying calls for an end to ‘political games’ regarding the facility’s long-delayed reconstruction.
The SJH fire, between midnight and 1 a.m. on September 9, 2009, tragically claimed the lives of two patients on site, with a third dying en route to Victoria Hospital in Castries.
Since the blaze, the hospital has been operating out of the George Odlum National Stadium, an arrangement that residents and staff alike describe as inadequate.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) and the United Workers Party (UWP) have led initiatives to reconstruct the facility, but progress has been slow.
The current SLP administration, which renewed reconstruction efforts in November 2022, deemed the previous building—constructed under the UWP—as unfit for use.
And Vieux Fort residents, speaking anonymously, have been voicing their frustration.
“It’s not fair to us that we do not have a proper hospital,” one local told St. Lucia Times.
“It should have been done a long time ago. Politics shouldn’t have to mix with this. The government who’s there start it, the other one who’s coming in continue, because this is a necessity.”
Hospital staff echo these sentiments, telling St. Lucia Times that while there is ongoing construction and refurbishment within the stadium, there is a lack of clear communication about when a new facility might be ready.
“They give us no updates here at the hospital… They gave us notice of renovations, which means if you are renovating, we are not going to move from here anytime soon,” said one staff member.
Residents also expressed concern over the transparency of the reconstruction process.
They asserted that significant funds have been borrowed for the project and are demanding greater clarity on how these resources are being utilised.
As the community grapples with lacking a dedicated hospital for their medical needs, they ask: Why has it taken so long to rebuild St. Jude’s Hospital? And how much longer will residents have to wait for a facility that meets their essential healthcare needs?
In a statement marking the 15th anniversary of the SJH fire, Health, Wellness, and Elderly Affairs Minister Moses Jn Baptiste reiterated the government’s commitment to re-establishing the medical facility.
Acknowledging that the people of Saint Lucia and the South had waited ‘for too long’, Jn Baptiste disclosed that there would be a contract signing this week signalling the final phase of the reconstruction project.
In this regard, he announced that delivery would occur ‘in the shortest possible time’.
File Photo: Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre and other officials tour the St. Jude Hospital reconstruction project.
