By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

GOVERNMENT officials say the long-promised Accident & Emergency upgrade at Princess Margaret Hospital is finally shifting into its operational phase — a late-year transition for a project that has repeatedly stumbled past earlier deadlines.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Michael Darville said on Friday that contractor work is complete and emergency staff have begun moving into the renovated space.

“The entire team at the Princess Margaret Hospital, our emergency physicians and their staff are moving aspects of the accident emergency in the renovated space,” he said. “Once that process is completed and we transfer the services from the existing, tight space that was not renovated into the new space, I will definitely be happy to do a tour with the media.”

He said the transition will unfold in stages as staff exit the cramped, outdated unit that has symbolised years of public frustration.

The A&E redevelopment was first announced with confidence in 2023 but has since become a case study in shifting timelines — reportedly slowed by equipment backlogs, cooling-system failures and deferred opening targets. In October, officials acknowledged that full completion would not come until the end of 2025 because of delays involving a critical airflow and cooling system, the DX unit.

Public Hospitals Authority Managing Director Aubynette Rolle said portions of the department are already functioning in the new area. She said emergency services cannot simply relocate all at once, and the remaining moves hinge on furniture and equipment arrivals, especially for paediatrics.

“On November 10, we did do a partial move already that takes care of what we call the acute patients,” she said on Friday. “So, we have those patients with observations, cardiology, all of that and that worked out well.”

“It's anticipated probably the next few weeks, we'll be able to move, as you know, no healthcare facility can move an entire emergency room one time so we've done the critical spaces. The only thing that's stopping us now is some of what we call our furniture and equipment that is coming in, particularly for pediatrics, they are expected to be in.

“We've got some of the chairs that are on, and they started the installation yesterday, so we expected, definitely before the end of this year that we will be in.”