Peebles Hospital

Peebles Hospital is the main public hospital in the British Virgin Islands. The hospital is located in the capital, Road Town, on the island of Tortola. It was founded in 1922 by Major H.W. Peebles, and was originally known as the Cottage Hospital.[1][2]

Peebles Hospital
Peebles Hospital. The new building is the main building shown. The original building is visible in the foreground below.
Geography
LocationRoad Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Coordinates18.4171°N 64.6191°W / 18.4171; -64.6191
History
Opened1922

The main hospital building six stories plus a mechanical penthouse, with 168,700 square feet of floor space. It has facilities for patient care, surgery, and recovery, and an intensive care unit.[3]

Name

In the 1950s the hospital was renamed after Major Peebles. During the early 1990s it was briefly renamed the H.R. Penn Hospital (after H.R. Penn) before reverting to its current name. In 2015 it was again suggested that it be renamed after Orlando Smith,[4] but that suggestion was unpopular, and has not been acted upon.[5]

Redevelopment

After surviving in its original building for nearly 90 years, the Government embarked upon an ambitious attempt to build a new hospital complex immediately behind the existing hospital. The new hospital was originally budgeted at approximately US$10 million, and expected to take just under 2 years to construct. In the event, the hospital cost well over US$100 million to construct, and took over a decade. It also costs a further US$16 million to furnish to become operational.[6] The Government was forced to appeal to private donors to help pay some of the cost of furnishing the new hospital.[7]

After numerous false starts, the hospital finally opened on 29 December 2014.[8] Deputy Premier Kendrick Pickering described the new hospital as "a dream come true".[8]

The cost overruns were caused by a combination of bad project management, disputes with construction crews, and ever-changing lists of specifications. Although historically the British Virgin Islands has normally produced a Government budget surplus, but shortly after commencing the new Peebles Hospital projectthe Territory began to run at a deficit (this time period also coincided with the financial crisis of 2007–2008). In 2011 the Territory had its largest ever budget deficit, of US$29 million (approximately 2.6% of GDP),[9] and by 2012 public debt had quadrupled from pre-2007 levels to approximately US$113 million (approximately 10.3% of GDP).[10] Nearly 84% of that public debt was attributable to the new public hospital project.[11] The Economist argued that deteriorating economic conditions in the British Virgin Islands were caused "not [by] sagging revenues but public-sector profligacy",[12] an oblique reference to the disastrous financial mismanagement of the hospital project.

References
  1. "History of Peebles Hospital" (PDF). BVI HSA. p. 4. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  2. In the Public Hospital Act (Cap 177) the hospital is referred to as the "Tortola Cottage Hospital", but the statute was amended by the General Revision Act, 1992 to change the description to "Peebles Hospital".
  3. "Medical Construction - Peebles Hospital". dck worldwide. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  4. "Name New Hospital In Honour Of Dr. Smith - Patsy Lake At Opening Of Festival". BVI Platinum. 28 July 2015.
  5. "Talk show host against renaming Peebles Hospital after Premier Smith". Virgin Islands News Online. 17 August 2015.
  6. "New hospital finally completed; Health Minister appeals for donations". BVI News. 1 November 2014. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  7. "More Help Needed To Equip New Hospital; Opening Date Changes". BVI Platinum. 4 July 2014.
  8. "First Patients Set Foot In New Hospital Today". BVI Platinum. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014. The British Virgin Islands Health Services Authority (BVIHSA) has completed the full transition to the new mulitmillion dollar Peebles Hospital today, Monday, December 29, the authority disclosed.
  9. "2013 Budget Address" (PDF). BVI Government. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 December 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  10. "National debt grows by $73M over last decade; public sector too big – Financial Secretary". BVI News. 24 January 2013. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013.
  11. "New hospital responsible for nearly 84% of national debt". Caribbean Medical News. 26 April 2013.
  12. "Treasure islands in trouble". The Economist. 25 May 2013.
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