Plans are shortly to be on the drawing board for a new polyclinic in The Valley to provide a full range of services in the central areas of Anguilla and beyond. This has been spoken about by Mrs. Maeza Demis-Adams, Chief Executive Officer of the Health Authority of Anguilla.
“We are going to be building a polyclinic in The Valley and will incorporate dental and other services there. It is one of the projects which will be funded by the UK grant, and that project is really one that will start from scratch,” she told The Anguillian newspaper. “We have to do the designs; find a project manager; sign contracts; build the building and commission it. That process will probably take one year from start to completion.”
She went on: “We hope to start that project early next year, probably by January, so that by January 2020 we should be in our brand new Valley Polyclinic. The Valley Health District is really the biggest health district in Anguilla, and we recognise that a large portion of our population has been displaced when it comes to primary prevention care.
“Persons have to go to the Welches Polyclinic to access services now, so the rebuilding of The Valley services is a priority for us – and we are also aware that we are currently functioning at half capacity at the hospital. We are actually functioning with compromised groups and, over the last couple of months, we have been focusing our attention on rehabilitating the hospital.
“From that project, The Valley Polyclinic will be the second priority. We are also looking at the Welches Polyclinic to do some renovations there. And the South Hill Clinic also really needs some attention within the three-year span of the UK grant.”
The Health Authority CEO added that three buildings in The Valley are to be demolished as part of the plans to construct the new polyclinic there. There are the Dental Unit, The Valley Health Clinic building which were both severely damaged by Hurricane Irma, and the old building formerly used as the residence of the St. Kitts-appointed Public Health Inspector (then as the Post Office; and, just before Hurricane Irma, as the Health and Nutrition Unit).
“Those buildings were slated to be demolished along with some of the [hurricane-damaged] schools, but I think the schools are taking priority,” she stated.”
