Democratic Labour Party (DLP) candidate for the City of Bridgetown, Dale Rowe, has condemned the government’s decision to allocate 2.037 hectares of the former general hospital to the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) free of charge, highlighting the stark contrast with what he described as deteriorating conditions at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital that replaced the colonial hospital 60 years ago.
The site at the corner of Bay Street and Jemmott’s Lane is set to house a trade centre, a luxury hotel and corporate offices. Rowe questioned the rationale behind the move, claiming the QEH was in a prolonged poor state mere metres away from the would-be Afreximbank complex.
Rowe told the DLP City constituency branch meeting of a recent visit to the children’s ward, where he was appalled by the conditions.
“When I went to the children’s ward and I saw the condition, I could not believe that we pay taxes,” he said. “I could not believe that people have to endure this kind of treatment in the hospital. Ward C7, the nurses had to close that ward because it is leaking hot water and the tiles in the roof falling out. This was reported since 2024, and no one seems to care about what the nurses are faced with every day at the QEH.”
Rowe also lamented the absence of basic supplies at the hospital: “There’s no toilet paper, there’s no napkin to dry your hands in on the wards. I asked the nurses what is going on, they said that they would have submitted a requisition since December and they have not received the supplies for the hospital and this is the state of our hospital. But yet still we can give away land for free,” he said.
Despite the praise from the current administration on the Afreximbank deal, Rowe stressed that there was a lack of facilities for children and young people in the same area, as he criticised the government for failing to provide safe spaces and recreational opportunities for vulnerable youth.
“We could extend the hospital, we could provide housing, we could provide a community facility for the children in that area. If you go and you visit Nelson Street anytime after four, you will see all of the little boys and all of the little girls bareback, barefoot, all over the street. And it’s not their fault, there’s nothing to do…there’s no activities, there’s not a community centre.
“The current administration said [they were] rebuilding the park next to London Bourne [Towers], they started work for three days and then work ceased. This shows me that we have a government that doesn’t care,” he said.
(SB)
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