Barbados’ flagship new geriatric care facility is moving steadily toward its planned launch by the end of 2026, with national health authorities wrapping up the final stages of preparation ahead of opening. During a Wednesday virtual public consultation focused on the second phase of the Geriatric Hospital and National Rehabilitation Centre project, Francine Blackman, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Wellness, confirmed that the facility remains on schedule to welcome its first patients in the final quarter of this year.
“Right now, we are anticipating that in the last quarter of 2026, we will have the facility fully operational and open to patients,” Blackman stated during the consultation. She added that major construction work on the site is almost complete, and project teams have shifted their focus to outfitting the building with critical medical and operational infrastructure. “We are putting the final finishes on the building itself. We have already issued requests for proposals to source everything from patient beds to privacy screens for clinical areas. We are also working diligently to lay the groundwork for the hospital’s digital connectivity and full IT infrastructure, which will be core to its daily operations.”
Once open, the new facility will deliver a major expansion to the island nation’s ability to provide long-term and specialized care for its aging population. Dr. Shayna Parris, a consultant at the existing Geriatric Hospital, explained that the current 260-bed facility on Beckles Road will be replaced by a phased expansion at the new site. The first phase of the new hospital will immediately bring total bed capacity up to 300, and completion of the second phase will add an additional 270 beds, pushing the total capacity to 570 once the full project is finished.
The expanded capacity will require a corresponding increase in clinical and administrative staffing, and health authorities have already launched recruitment drives to fill these new roles. “With more beds serving more patients, we need to grow our team across medical, nursing, and administrative departments to maintain safe and adequate patient-to-provider ratios,” Parris explained. She noted that the ministry has prioritized hiring local candidates first, only turning to international recruitment if qualified local applicants are not available for open positions.
Notably, the new hospital’s design goes beyond traditional clinical care to address the holistic needs of elderly patients, including dedicated space for spiritual care and support. “The design team gave thoughtful consideration to integrating spiritual care into the facility, recognizing that whole-person care extends far beyond medical treatment and medication,” Parris said. The building will include dedicated rooms for chaplains and regular worship services, and hospital leadership plans to build active partnerships with local churches and faith-based organizations to deliver these services to patients who want them. “We respect that elderly patients have spiritual and psychosocial needs that are just as important as their medical needs, and this facility is designed to meet all of those needs,” she added.