Officials say the site will house 60 beds for patients deemed medically fit for discharge but have not yet secured appropriate long-term care
Channel House will be redeveloped into a temporary housing facility for patients fit for discharge from the hospital, to alleviate pressures on the Bermuda Hospital Board’s acute care wing.
Housing and Municipalities Minister Zane DeSilva told media this morning at the Southside location that the new facility will accommodate 60 beds, with adjoining amenities for patient care.
He said the project is expected to be completed for use within 15 to 18 months, following design changes and construction work to repurpose the “underutilised” site.
Funding for the project will cost between $8-$10 million and is budgeted for this fiscal year, Minister DeSilva added.
Health Minister Kim Wilson said the property is a “major step forward” in providing care to those medically fit for discharge in the “right setting”.
Channel House will be operated by the Department of Health, where staff will provide rehabilitation services and other care to patients.
Minister Wilson reiterated that Channel House would be for temporary placement while family members arrange alternative long-term care in the community for their loved ones.
The site came under BLMC management in 2023 and was made available for government use.
In April last year, then Minister for the Cabinet Office and Digital Innovation Diallo Rabain green lit the site to be redeveloped into a seniors’ residential facility. This overruled the planning department’s rejection due to the plan lacking ground-floor commercial activity in a mixed-use zone.
According to planning documents, the three-storey building was meant to undergo interior renovation to build 45 bedrooms, fitted to house 57 seniors.
Minister Wilson said today that Channel House was chosen instead of MWI, which had originally been earmarked as a 30-bed facility for patients medically fit for discharge.
BHB Acting CEO Judy Richardson was also on hand for today’s news conference in support of the redevelopment.
