THE construction of a new maternity unit at the New Amsterdam Hospital is ongoing with some sections already completed, Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony said on Tuesday.

During his COVID-19 update, he disclosed that the unit will be housed in another building that was being constructed in the hospital’s compound.

“We are far advanced with that building. We had to do [a lot] when we inherited the building. It was one of those projects from the last government. It was poorly designed,” he said, before explaining that the building needed theatres along with several technical components.

The minister said that lots of modification had to be done to the structure. He said that there were pillars in the centre of the operating space which would hinder its smooth operation.

“So, we had to get the engineers to redesign the theatre to remove those pillars. So, those works have been completed and they’re doing final works to finish up the theatre,” he said.

Further, he noted that the additions to the building included intensive care unit (ICU) spaces and the installation of lines for medical gas.