Dr Godwin Friday, Leader of the Opposition and Parliamentary Representative for the Northern Grenadines said that he welcomed the news that the clinic at Paget Farm will be rebuilt.
It was announced at the last Sitting of Parliament on May 9 that the clinic at Paget Farm will be rebuilt utilizing funds from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).
The finding amounting to EC$21.6 million has been allocated to the construction and rehabilitation of healthcare facilities in the country and is part of the US$50 million (EC$135 million) loan under the SFD.
“The project mentioned here to be done, of course, it is welcomed, that is the rebuilding of the Paget Farm clinic,” Friday said during the May 9 Sitting of Parliament.
“I had heard rumors on the ground because they don’t tell me, and the comment in the community [is] that there was some discussion about rebuilding the clinic,” he continued.
According to the Parliamentary Representative, the original site of the clinic at Paget Farm was abandoned sometime now, and the health facility has been relocated to the Paget Farm Community Centre.
“It took over the community center, the top floor,” Friday said.
And many members of the community objected to this, he explained because the community center was a major facility for the residents there.
“And I dare say without fear of contradictions that this is one of the most used centers anywhere in the country.”
Everything from birthday parties, after-school classes, exercise classes, weddings, and even funerals were held at the community center before it became the locale for the clinic Friday said.
The original building that housed the clinic was left to deteriorate to the point where it no longer became functional; the Leader of the Opposition contended.
“And rather than rebuilding immediately before you move out, you took over the center.”
“So, it became urgent for it (the clinic) to be replaced, that is to say, the old clinic to be replaced with a new one,” Friday said.
Repairing the old clinic would have been difficult because the building is very old, he explained.
“But certainly not to occupy the community center for the time that it has been taken over,” he told Parliament.
According to Friday, the top floor was now occupied by the clinic and magistrate’s court, and the police station was relocated downstairs.
The community center was essentially taken away from the community, he contended.
“What was particularly egregious about this is that the first floor of the center had been refurbished not too long before that by private donors who said they want to fix it up for the community,” he said.
The question was asked to the former health minister, Luke Browne whether there were plans to refurbish or rebuild the clinic since it had moved to the community center, but Friday said that the response was vague, with the then health minister saying yes, but not giving a time frame and that he had stopped asking about it in Parliament.
And while he said that he was pleased to see that work was to be done on building a clinic in Paget Farm, he added that it was urgent.
It had been indicated that EC$460,000 was going to be spent this year on the design of the new building.
But he said that he heard talk that the clinic is to be rebuilt at a different location, next to the school in Paget Farm.
“But let me just say this, responsible government looks out for the community and provides services, this is a service institution for the community.”
“It would be the decent thing to do to have some consultation with the community, especially if you are going to move it to a different location,” Friday noted.
He said that he consulted with residents in the community who indicated that a place had been cleared lower down in Paget Farm but was that new location an area that would create more difficulty for the people who use the clinic and who were elderly persons, he questioned.
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