The Geriatric Hospital in Beckles Road, St Michael, will one day be no more.
Minister of Health Jeffrey Bostic said plans are in the works to demolish the structure and replace it with something else. He said a new Geriatric Hospital would be built elsewhere. However, Bostic said he was not privy to all the details.
“There is a plan to [demolish it] but I cannot give you the details as those are with the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment but there is also a plan to build a new one and as Minister of Health I am looking forward to it,” he said.
Bostic, who was speaking at the ministry’s Culloden Road office, said Barbados had not properly utilised “what the Lord has given us”, pointing out that with an ageing population, an excellent climate and a destination of choice, the country had not properly invested in making Barbados a haven for older visitors.
“It seems to me as we ought to invest in our elderly care facilities to make Barbados a hub for elderly tourists and for those who want to rehabilitate, to be able to come to Barbados in this pleasant climate with its very nice people, and that will bring some much needed revenue for this country,” he said.
While not knowing exactly what was going to happen or when, the health minister said he hoped the Geriatric Hospital would be replaced with a national rehabilitation centre.
“That would certainly be a desire on my part because we do need such a facility here, especially with the number of stroke victims, accident victims and diabetic patients we have. We do not have the capacity at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital or at any of our health institutions to handle them all,” he said. (CA)
