The 40,000 square feet Marigot hospital with 75-bed capacity is almost getting completed. The hospital will aid the provision of excellent healthcare services to the people of Marigot and the surrounding areas. And the construction of the state-of-the-art hospital was made possible with CBI funds, said Minister of State Gregory Riviere.
According to Riviere, the hospital couldn’t have been built without CBI funds since the COVID-19 pandemic has made sourcing for construction funds very hard. He said the government has been able to finance numerous projects across the country with the CBI funds. He further stated that the pandemic has caused a significant reduction in the tax income of Dominica, and that no foreign country is willing to give out loans because of the pandemic.
“Of course, there is no way that we would be able to get a loan to build this facility, not in this covid-environment; and grants are not always forthcoming, because every country is trying to keep what little they have, and we cannot rely on taxes because in this covid environment we have seen a dramatic decrease in our tax revenues,” Riviere said. “So, the CBI is a very, very good instrument that we can use to finance those capital projects.”
The minister of state revealed that the hospital will be equipped with ambulances and will include Emergency Care, Intensive Care (ICU), Maternity and Pediatric Care, Laboratory and Radiology Services and Trauma Centre. He added that doctors and nursing staff will provide the best of healthcare services to patients who are brought to the medical centre.
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Gloria Joseph, expressed satisfaction with the quality of work at the hospital. She said the hospital complex is very strong and resistant to seismic activity and hurricanes. She said the modern infrastructure is very resilient and would last centuries to serve the health needs of the entire community.
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