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Clearly, the debate isn't over yet. At the Territorial Council meeting on October 23, elected representatives voted to rebuild the Irénée de Bruyn hospital in Gustavia (JSB 1637). However, the vote was ratified by a majority of votes, not unanimously. The nuance is important because, during the vote, the eight elected members of the Action-Équilibre group voted against the plan to rebuild the hospital on the current site in Gustavia. A position that Marie-Hélène Bernier, Bettina Cointre, David Blanchard, Jonas Brin, Dimitri Lédée, Pascale Minaro Baudoin, Cécile Tessier and Maxime Desouches firmly hold. So much so that on Tuesday December 2, they signed a request to convene the territorial council (in accordance with the provisions of article LO6221-1 b of the French General Code of Territorial Authorities) in order to rule on a very clear draft deliberation: a request to consult the electorate. Our objective is simple and transparent," write the eight elected representatives in a press release. To enable the voters of Saint-Barthélemy to decide democratically on the site for the future hospital. "
An "imposed" choice
The Action-Équilibre group considers that the choice of site is not just a technical issue. "It's a choice that commits our island for the next 40 to 50 years," they write. It's a choice that directly affects the health, safety and quality of life of everyone, and one that must be made with full knowledge of the facts, not in haste or confusion. In fact, the elected members of Action-Équilibre consider that the designation of the current site to rebuild a health facility was "a mistake".tablissement de santé was "imposed" without being presented with "a complete comparative study". An argument already put forward at the October 23 meeting by Bettina Cointre. No study was carried out for the Saint-Jean site, which is larger and close to the barracks and airport," she said. It has obvious territorial cohesion. Are we really going to subsidize a landlocked, cramped downtown site that may not be ours? "On the thorny issue of land ownership, mediation between the hospital and the Guadeloupe departmental council ended on November 28. The content of the report should be unveiled in the next few days.
In its lengthy press release, the Action-Équilibre group details its reasons for supporting construction on the Saint-Jean site. "Accessible, better served, more central, flat, buildable, expandable, close to the fire station and airport (...) And above all located on land belonging to the Collectivité, with no land disputes. The eight elected representatives reiterate that rebuilding in Gustavia would mean "confining" the facility "to a narrow, saturated site", "incurring higher costs", and "creating a new building".costs", "create lasting accessibility problems" and "severely limit the future development capacity of the public hospital service".
The eight elected representatives have announced that they will be holding a public meeting on the subject "in the near future". At this meeting, they undertake to present to the public all the documents at their disposal, outlining "the constraints of the Gustavia site", "the assets of the Saint-Jean site", as well as the financial, technical and urban planning issues at stake. "Democracy is not limited to a vote", they write, adding: "The future hospital belongs to everyone and we trust the Saint-Barths. "
At the territorial council meeting on October 23, the five elected members of the Unis pour Saint-Barthélemy group and the six from Saint-Barth d'Abord voted in favor of rebuilding the hospital in Gustavia. Pascale Minaro Baudoin had already put forward the idea of a popular consultation. President Lédée replied: "This consultation already took place in 2022, when voters voted for councillors who proposed rebuilding the hospital. "Except that, at the time, the possibility of a construction project on Saint-Jean had not been considered in any concrete way.
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33.3 million project in Gustavia |
A consultation on the future of the hospital?
Reaction from Alexandra Questel, 4th vice-president of the Collectivité (Saint-Barth d'Abord)
"Was the referendum on the hospital's location the right question to ask?
We think the priority is to have a new hospital. The real question should be: what services and resources are we going to provide for our population?
Whether it's in Saint-Jean or Gustavia, a hospital needs staff accommodation. The Gustavia project meets this essential need. I'm quite open to organizing a meeting on this subject and to exchanging views with the population. Relocating the hospital also means relocating the EHPAD, because the two structures work together.
We have already invested over 10 million euros in the EHPAD. The Saint-Jean project alone is already costing 60 million euros, not counting contingencies and housing. Secondly, what will become of the current hospital and EHPAD?
If the land belongs to the hospital and not to the community, will they agree to relocate, or will we have to find a private operator to manage the hospital and EHPAD that we will have built in Saint-Jean? And how long will it take the State and the ARS to rule on the matter?
We'd rather have a secure hospital in 5 years' time, than a hypothetical project in 10 to 15 years' time. "
