Government spent more than $400,000 on staff for the yet-to-be-opened long-term mental health facility in East End in the first seven months of this year.
The Poinciana Rehabilitation Centre is substantially complete but remains mired in delays amid what health chiefs have described as a “plethora of problems” that emerged during planning inspections.
Meanwhile, there are 22 people employed by the centre, including psychiatric nurses and assistants, despite the absence of patients.
And a number of people with mental health issues are still being cared for in group homes in Jamaica.
Last week, the Compass spoke with residents at the group homes, some of whom have been in Jamaica for over a decade, who told us they are desperate to come home and frustrated at the continual delays.
Ironically, government has spent more on staffing the empty East End facility than it has in funding to the Community Group Homes in Jamaica, which are paid around $2,500 per patient per month – a total of around $150,000 in the first six months of this year for the 10 patients from Cayman.
Responding to questions from the Compass, the Ministry of Health said a director and human resources manager had been hired in 2023 while the remaining 20 staff were brought in this year with start dates ranging from March to July. As of the end of July, $402,307 had been paid out in salaries and benefits for the year.
Preparatory work
Those hired include five senior managers (director, HR, nurse, finance and business, and clinical); two mid-level managers (assistant facilities manager, IT lead); six registered psychiatric nurses; seven psychiatric nursing assistants; a cook and a driver.
“The staff has been engaging in preparatory work to ready the facility for opening,” a ministry spokeswoman said.
“This work has included, but is not limited to, the development of [the centre’s] strategic plan, policies, procedure documents, operational plans, orientation, undertaking mandatory training, procurement of equipment and supplies (medical and non-medical), and conducting assessments of residents overseas.”
The centre cannot open until the buildings receive a certificate of occupancy from the Public Works Department. Once that happens, Poinciana will be ready to receive its first residents within four weeks, the spokeswoman said.
Speaking in Parliament in July, Health Minister Sabrina Turner declined to give an estimate for when the facility would be functional, saying it was beyond the control of her ministry.
She said a “special permit to occupy” the three central buildings – an administration building, cafeteria and activity centre – had been obtained in July, allowing the 22 staff members to begin working from the premises.
Under questioning from George Town South MP Barbara Conolly, she acknowledged the final permission to occupy was still needed for the three main buildings and the residential cottages, and highlighted a “plethora of problems”, including with mechanical, electrical and plumbing inspections.
Losing hope
Issues
As the ministry awaits those building permit approvals, patients overseas say they are increasingly losing hope.
“The place is built and staffed. They need to open it and send for us. All of us Caymanians want to leave here. We want to come home,” one patient at a group facility in Kingston told the Compass.
The Progressives, in a statement to the Compass, said the opening of the centre, which broke ground in 2019, had been delayed too long and described the minister’s inability to provide a concrete opening date as “unacceptable”.
“If the UPM government were truly united and committed to this cause, we would already have a set opening date, with all hands on deck to make it happen.
“Instead, we find ourselves in a frustrating situation where 22 staff members are being paid at a cost of $402,000 for the first seven months of the year, yet the facility remains closed with the minister saying an opening date is beyond her remit.”
The statement echoed the comments of Conolly in Parliament, asking, “Where is the urgency? It’s time for the government to stop delaying and start delivering.”
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This project has brought shame on the Government and specifically the PWD Project Management Unit. It goes to show that getting a certificate for completing a classroom course does not make you a Project Manager. You need experience and mentoring from seasoned professionals while you get your hands dirty and your boots broken in.
It also exemplifies how interference by politicians can screw up the entire project. No wonder Dr. Lockhart removed himself from the project.
This project was not something to give to a bunch of small contractors with marginal management skills, guided by rookie PWD project managers, who were being bullied by obnoxious, short-sighted politicians.
I’m ashamed of this project, I feel sorry for the rookie management staff that learned the wrong way to bring about a successful project, and worst of all those poor patients who’s hopes were ignited and then slowly snuffed out.
Shame on all of you involved.