Dawes calls for probe into Bellevue expansion failure, says ‘accountability must start at the top’

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesman on Health and Wellness Dr Alfred Dawes is calling on Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton to launch an independent investigation into the Bellevue Hospital procurement process and to hold accountable the officers responsible for the failure to advance the long-promised expansion of the facility.

According to Dawes, in a press release, the call comes following confirmation from the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) that, despite the Government’s 2022 announcement of plans to construct a 100-bed mental health facility at Bellevue Hospital, no procurement submission for the project has ever been presented to the Commission.

He said the revelation directly contradicts comments made by Minister Tufton in an August interview, in which he stated that a procurement submission had been “returned” by the PPC for re-evaluation in May 2026 and referred to years of “back and forth” with the commission. The PPC has since made clear that it could not have returned a submission it never received.