When it opens, the new Nurse Iris O’Neal Clinic on Virgin Gorda “will be a modern facility designed to handle most medical situations that will arise in Virgin Gorda,” with a 24-hour emergency room and daily doctor’s clinics, Health and Social Development Minister Ronnie Skelton said Friday in the House of Assembly.
A public invitation for expressions of interest on the new facility was issued June 2, and the closing date for prospective bidders is tomorrow, Mr. Skelton said.
“A pre-tender meeting will then be held for all prospective tenderers at the Virgin Gorda Administration Building” at 10 a.m. on June 25, Mr. Skelton said.
A public opening of the tenders will follow on July 15 at the Ministry of Finance Procurement Unit, he added.
“Monies have already been allocated in the 2014 budget to start moving forward, and as soon as the tendering process has been completed and a contractor selected, we will be ready to break ground,” Mr. Skelton said, adding that construction is estimated to take 18-24 months.
The new clinic will offer many specialist clinics, such as family planning and pre- and post-natal care; bi-monthly obstetrics and mental health services; monthly audiology, dentistry and nutrition services; and “well-being clinics” for immunisations, physiotherapy and wound care, according to the minister.
Government finished paying for the $1.1 million, half-acre property for the new clinic in 2009, with architectural plans unveiled in May 2010, but the project was delayed when a commercial court dissolved the firm that had completed the original designs.
According to Mr. Skelton, the new clinic has been needed for many years.
“As we are all aware, the people of Virgin Gorda have been asking for such a facility for quite some time,” he said. “As a matter of fact, Madam Speaker, long before the thought crossed my mind about entering the political arena, they identified the need for such a facility.”
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