WILLEMSTAD - The minister of Public Health, Suzanne Camelia-Römer, has taken note of the questions that have arisen in the community about a responsible opening of the Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) on November 15, 2019.
To open the new hospital, three independent agencies must give the green light, namely AT Osborne, Fire Department Curaçao and the Public Health Inspectorate. These three agencies independently evaluate, based on their own specific conditions, the guarantees that are needed both regarding the safety of the patients and for the employees and doctors in the Curaçao Medical Center.
(1.) The inspection of the building
AT Osborne, an independent company that inspects the construction, must provide a written statement that the building is ready for use. In a letter dated October 31, 2019, AT Osborne confirms to SONA / HNO that the building can be put into use.
(2.) Fire safety inspection
Fire department Curacao must give its approval on aspects related to fire safety and prevention. Before this approval is given, the Curacao Fire Department will have an independent company go through all aspects of fire safety. This process is ongoing, and it is expected that the Curacao Fire Department will make a decision in the coming days. Until November 7, 2019, there are no indications that the Curacao Fire Department will not approve these aspects.
(3.) Monitoring of the safety of patients and employees
The Public Health Inspectorate must ultimately give its approval regarding the standards of the health of the patients and the safety of the employees. This check has been done for some time by a team from the Public Health Inspectorate, an independent body.
The new hospital can only open if all three authorities mentioned approve the building and give the green light for the use of the building based on their own responsibility. Under those conditions, the new hospital will open its doors to welcome its first patients. Now, everything indicates that this will be the case on 15 November 2019.
It is important to point out that a team of experts from Erasmus Medical Center (Rotterdam) is assisting the CMC in the ongoing process. The Erasmus Medical Center successfully moved three hospitals to one building last year. This team believes that the CMC can start this process.
