The Minister of Health and Family Services announced last night that complete restoration of Lefroy House is on the cards and work is currently underway on a phased basis at this facility in Sandys.

The seniors home has been in the spotlight for the last few months after Shadow Minister of Seniors, Louise Jackson called on the Government to fix the property's roof which was damaged in Hurricane Fabian more than two years ago.

In a statement last night, Patrice Minors said Government was moving ahead with renovations to the main building of Lefroy House, which will be used for administrative offices. Complete restorations of the old Lefroy House building will follow.

The Minister pointed out that no seniors were housed in the part of the building that suffered roof damage during Hurricane Fabian. She said residents had been moved to another section of Lefroy House that had been improved and plans were already in place to renovate the old building to create an activities centre.

Lefroy House consists of a number of buildings of various ages, each requiring repairs or renovations to bring them up to the required standards.

Mrs. Minors said her Ministry and the Department of Health are currently working to complete a Master Plan for Lefroy House that identifies all of the work required to meet the current and future needs of the facility.

"To that end, Works and Engineering conducted a physical survey and a condition survey of all the existing buildings there," she said.

Structural engineers are currently completing specifications for the repair work to the damaged roof in the old building and a consultant architectural firm has been engaged to prepare a design for all necessary improvements to the facility.

The funds to implement the Master Plan have been included in Government's Capital Expenditure Plan.

Mrs. Minors said renovations and refurbishment of the main building are nearing completion to allow for the transfer of administrative offices from the old building.

She said this work was necessary to facilitate the second phase of programmed work which is scheduled for completion by the end of the month.

"In the next phase the roof will be repaired and interior demolition work will be carried out in the old building and installation of a replacement lightning protection system and a patient wandering system will be completed within the current budget year in conjunction with the roof repair."

The third phase of programmed work, she said, included refurbishment of resident rooms in the main building as well as the Annex to provide for en-suite bathrooms.

"In addition other areas, including offices and the living and dining rooms will be upgraded and this work will be carried out in the new budget year," she said.