101 Surgeries Performed in Western Jamaica Under CODE CARE
By: , November 9, 2022
Photo: Serena Grant
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, (right), greets Hospiten Hospital patient, Derrick Marshall (centre), a beneficiary of the Ministry’s CODE CARE pilot project. Occasion was a visit by Dr. Tufton to the facility on November 4. Looking on is Nursing Director at Hospiten, Barbara Suarez.
Photo: Serena Grant
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, addresses a press briefing at the Hospiten Hospital in Montego Bay, St. James, on November 4.The Full Story
A total of 101 surgeries have been completed in Western Jamaica under the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ CODE CARE Project.
Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, made the disclosure on Friday (November 4) during a visit to the Hospiten Hospital in St. James, which is one of four health facilities participating in the public-private initiative.
A total of 2,000 surgeries will be done under CODE CARE, which aims to clear the backlog of outstanding elective cases due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
GWest Medical and Surgery Centre, Montego Bay Hospital and Baywest Wellness Hospital, are the other facilities that have partnered with the Ministry on the pilot initiative.
Under contracts that were signed in September, the private health facilities will perform the surgeries and provide recovery spaces for public-sector patients.
Dr. Tufton said that the 101 procedures, which were done up to November 3, show that the programme is working.
He informed that seven surgeries were completed at Hospiten, while Montego Bay Hospital has done the highest number of procedures at about 37.
“It is still a far cry from the 2,000 surgeries that we want to do to clear up the backlog, but it is an indication that the process has started and [is progressing] reasonably well,” he noted.
“The west has led on the public-private collaboration, which is something that I am very much in support of because we can’t do it alone in the public space. To the extent that the private space has extra capacity, and we can agree on an arrangement, then we will utilise the private space for various things,” he pointed out.
For his part, Country Manager for Hospiten, Samuel Alfonso Diaz, said that the facility was pleased to assist the Health Ministry in the CODE CARE initiative.
“It’s a part of our commitment to the community. We are proud of the partnership… . It’s a good initiative. We are taking care of our patients and everybody will benefit. It’s a pleasure for us,” Mr. Diaz said.
Dr. Tufton’s visit to Hospiten formed part of stops made at three health facilities in the west, including the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland and the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in St. James.