THA Secretary of Health, Wellness and Family Development Tracy Davidson-Celestine has said a new Intensive Care Unit (ICU) facility in Scarborough should be completed within the next three weeks.

It will be at the Tobago Rehabilitation and Empowerment Centre (TREC), Fort King George.

At the division’s media briefing last week, County Medical Officer of Health, Tobago, Dr Tiffany Hoyte, revealed the island’s ICU was “over capacity.”

On that occasion, she said, “We have in Tobago currently five ICU beds, so what that says is that we’re actually over capacity, with six persons actually being housed at the isolation room in A&E. At this point in time, we are at the crossroads where we have this situation – so what happens for persons who come in severely ill and need an ICU bed?”

At present, there are five patients at the ICU at the Scarborough General Hospital

On Thursday, Davidson-Celestine said work has begun on the building, which is expected to add about seven new beds to Tobago’s existing ICU stock.

She said the project is being managed by Udecott “because, of course, it requires a certain level of expertise when you are treating with things as specialised as setting up or establishing ICU facilities."

She said the facility should be handed over to the Tobago House of Assembly and the Tobago Regional Health Authority.

She said the contractors started work several days ago, "work is progressing nicely,"and most of the equipment is already in Tobago.

“It is very easy for that equipment to be installed. The only challenge we might have is with respect to the oxygen, in terms of having the compressor on the island...when the facility is finished.”

But she said there is a short-term measure to deal with the supply of oxygen.

At the briefing, Davidson-Celestine also said the division’s community vaccination drive heads to villages of L’Anse Fourmi, Parlatuvier and Bloody Bay next week.

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