There have never been so many demolitions of public and private sector buildings in Anguilla as seen today.
They stretched from the Blowing Point Port area to schools on the Blowing Point Road, in The Valley and East End, the Department of Infrastructure and church buildings at South Hill and Long Bay. The demolitions were all a result of extensive damage by Hurricane Irma and the need for rebuilding stronger and better structures.
The latest demolitions are a cluster of four Government-owned buildings which were operated by the Health Authority of Anguilla. They was The Valley Dental Clinic, The Valley Health Clinic, the Primary Health Unit and the Environmental Health Unit. They have been completely removed leaving observers thinking about both the small spaces they occupied and the change of the landscape. The only other ageing building on the compound is the one still being occupied by the Anguilla National Trust. West of that is the newer Department of Education building which also houses some public health offices.
Mrs. Maeza Demis-Adams, Chief Executive Officer of the Health Authority of Anguilla, told media representatives: “After Hurricane Irma three of the healthcare buildings were damaged and we have witnessed their demolition – the Dental Unit, The Valley Health Centre and the Primary Healthcare Building where we housed the Nutritionist etc. They were damaged beyond repair, and we were fortunate enough to get approval through the UK grant to build a multi-purpose primary healthcare facility in The Valley.
“You witnessed the demolition of these buildings because something brand new is going there. It is actually going to be a complex that will house the dental unit, the clinic and the main pharmacy which will be moved from the hospital. It will be a fit-for-purpose pharmacy where you will have privacy, and where we will be able to sell over the counter drugs and other medical equipment. In addition, there will also be corporate space to house the CEO, Human Resource Manager, the CFO and other officers who have been occupying half of the psychiatric unit for the last five or six years. I think it is about time that we give up that space and to be housed at that health complex. It is an exciting time for health.”
The Health Authority’s CEO took the opportunity to mention that, as a result of the devastation caused by the hurricane, the hospital had obtained new facilities; staff had been working under very difficult circumstances; the wards were only recently reopened with patients having had to be cared for in the construction zone.
Demis-Adams
She said that in addition to the health complex in The Valley, there were plans to further rehabilitate the hospital by changing all of the galvanize roofs to concrete; the construction of a new storage room and a concrete wall fence to secure the facility; a polyclinic at the western end of the island that will serve as a full healthcare facility including dentistry, a pharmacy and other clinical services.
The polyclinic will greatly enhance the services of the South Hill Clinic which, though the smallest, is the busiest because of the large population in that area. There will also be some upgrades to the Welches Polyclinic.
