Health Minister Irving McIntyre has highlighted milestone progress in the ongoing construction of the Dominica China Friendship Hospital (DCFH) which began in 2016 and slated for completion in 2022. The US$40 million hospital is expected to rank among the top state-of-the-art hospitals in Dominica by the time it is fully completed and is fully funded by the government of China.
Dr. McIntyre said the entire construction will be in seven phases, and that phase 1-3 is complete and functional. Phase 1 covers the emergency building, accident and emergency department, and administrative offices. Phase 2 covers the construction of an ophthalmology unit, an operating theatre, accommodation for staff, and a dormitory building. And Phase 3 is the construction of an outpatient building within the emergency department.
According to McIntyre, “the Medical Technology Building 1 is complete and it includes the radiology department on the ground floor, the medical laboratory on the 1st floor, and the dialysis unit and the ambulatory care unit on the top floor. So this phase one is completed and is in full use now.”
The health minister revealed that the Medical Technology Building 2 is also complete and it comprises of the blood bank, the ICU, and four operating theatres; however, the entire hospital has seven operating theatres. The two inpatient buildings which are undergoing construction will be four storeys each and these will be for male and female wards.
When the entire hospital is completed, the entire wards and departments, as well as the floors, will be accessible from a central point; and the whole points will be accessible with four elevators, three stairs, and a ramp, McIntyre stated. Two of the elevators are now installed and two of the stairs have been completed too. He added that the landscaping has been contracted out to a local contractor for execution.
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