New life could soon be breathed into the dilapidated St Joseph Hospital at Ashton Hall, St Peter.
Speaking in the House of Assembly today during debate on the Medical Profession Bill 2010, Minister of Health Donville Inniss said the property would be leased to an American entity and a medical facility constructed.
It is expected that the new clinic will cater to patients from north American and would also be accessible to locals. Invest Barbados is dealing with the arrangements surrounding the lease.
Two years ago then Minister of Health Dr David Estwick toured the 22-acre property and lamented that political decisions taken had resulted in a deterioration of a property that was worth millions of dollars. He noted that to rehabilitate the property would be substantial. Estwick said it could have played an integral role in solving some of the acute problems at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The property was closed by the Owen Arthur administration on March 31, 1995. [WG]
