Inside a Jamaican hospital rebuilding after Hurricane Melissa

As you drive towards Falmouth there is still a dirty looking moat of stagnant water around the town.

As you slowly drive along the coastal road, the bow wave breaks and the smell of sewage hits you.

Passing cars drive slowly to prevent the spray from seeping through the windows.

This part of the historic city was hit hard by Hurricane Melissa. The district hospital is on the low road, which is the western road leading to the centre.

It was flooded as water moved through the mangrove towards the facility.

The hospital’s head of nursing, Donna-Marie Hamilton-Wallace, was on duty at the time.

“It was devastating for patients and staff, the downstairs was flooded due to the storm and we had to form a human chain to evacuate them upstairs,” he said. “It was scary, but I’m glad the patients and staff are OK.”

I visited the hospital for the first time the morning after the storm.

The officers had been clearing the rubble of the buildings for days without sleeping, facing an insurmountable challenge.

High winds blew off the roofs of the wards and caused infrastructure such as the boiler room to be submerged by 1.2 meters of water.

Now, 10 days later I’m back and things are slowly getting better.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said at least 32 people have died and caused nearly $7 billion (£5.3 billion) in damage since the storm devastated Jamaica.

Haiti and other parts of the Caribbean were also devastated when the Category 5 storm hit the region.

Piles of twisted construction material and water-damaged equipment are being cleared by men and women from the Royal Navy and Commandos from the Army’s Crisis Response Unit.

There is also a helping hand from the Spanish team, who are here to build a field hospital.

The laundry room, which was used to clean aprons and wash bedding, is still in terrible shape, its roof now exposed only to the rafters. This is the next job for a group of Commandos; is to figure out how to solve problems with several options that desperately need solutions.

The team in the boiler room includes local workers and Marine Engineer Naomi Pearmine.

As a technician, his job is normally to look after the fuel system, engines and propulsion of the Royal Navy offshore patrol ship HMS Trent, which is tasked with assisting here in Jamaica.

Normally he wouldn’t take part in such missions, but the key to getting the hospital up and running is turning on the ignition.

Machelle Stubbs, the hospital’s chief medical officer, explained how important it is to get help at this point.

“Most of our staff is still here and working,” he said. “Not having the chance to deal with their own personal problems compounds the problems. Fortunately, we have help from other parts of the island and other international organisations.”

Cleanup crews from Jamaica’s health ministry arrived last weekend and were loaded onto Jamaica’s bright yellow public buses to help colleagues in need.

However, what is important today is the aid coming from abroad.

HMS Trent was sent to the Caribbean to provide assistance to British Overseas Territories and Commonwealth Nations during the hurricane season.

First Lieutenant Jacob Mikurenda is second in command. For sailors on this mission, he said, it’s a chance to bring all of their skills together in a situation different from their normal duties.

For many sailors, this mission to provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief was the first land operation of their careers.

“It was amazing to see the resilience of the people and the recovery of the community after the hurricane,” Mr. Mikurenda said.

The extent of the disaster can be seen in small details as well as in large details.

Staff hung sheets on makeshift clotheslines along walkways leading to the wards. There are crumpled signs for hospital departments dotting the ground and medical records drying on a tarpaulin among administrative offices.

The hospital’s CEO, Keriesa Bell Cummings, summed it up: “It’s really traumatic, but as the leader here I have to stay strong.”

He is organizing people from around the world — diplomats, aides from hospitals in less-affected parts of the island and the country’s health ministry — to help with the effort.

He initially said he was too busy to do an interview, but later wanted to express that everything was back to normal.

“We’ve asked for a lot of financial support, assistance, tools, labor, food, and now it’s coming,” Ms. Cummings said.

Communication is still an issue in Falmouth and our area, but there is hope that this will get better in the coming days.

WhatsApp and phone are still patchy, making calls difficult and coordination almost impossible.

But this week is better than last week, a sentiment most Jamaicans cling to.