Chinese Medical Ship Docks in Port Royal

After serving almost 2,000 patients in Montego Bay, St. James, the People’s Republic of China’s advanced navy hospital ship, the Silk Road Ark, has docked at the Port Royal Cruise Pier.

It will serve patients from the Corporate Area and surrounding communities over the next three days.

The vessel was met at the pier by a delegation, including Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton; Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Hon.

Kamina Johnson Smith; Opposition Leader, Mark Golding; Mayor of Kingston, Andrew Swaby, and Opposition Spokesman on Health and Wellness, Dr. Alfred Dawes, on Monday (December 8).

Speaking after a tour of the vessel, Dr. Tufton noted that the ship will facilitate outpatient care, diagnostic services, and elective surgeries.

“A number of procedures are already pre-planned, including surgeries, dental, medicals, both for patients but also for healthcare staff. So, three days here and then it moves on to Falmouth, where it will do the same thing,” the Minister detailed.

He emphasised that Jamaica and China have had a long-standing beneficial cooperation in health.

“We have had a team coming here to do eye surgeries. We have had medical personnel going to China, participating in both clinical rotation, and training… Chinese personnel coming here… and of course the big one is the Western Child and Adolescent Hospital, which is a gift of the Chinese government. So, the relationship is strong,” Dr. Tufton outlined.

In her remarks, Senator Johnson Smith affirmed that the presence of the medical ship is evidence of the cooperation between the Chinese Government and the Government of Jamaica, working for the benefit of the Jamaican people.

“We have a strong friendship and cooperation with the People’s Republic of China and health is one of the areas in which we have cooperated. In fact, during COVID, the People’s Republic of China provided mobile ambulances, mobile isolation units, as well as vaccines, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other support,” she said.

Mrs. Johnson Smith noted, further, that health cooperation is also visible in the support being provided by China during the renovation of the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St. James.

“Health cooperation between our two countries is strong and active,” she emphasised.

Meanwhile, China’s Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Jinfeng Wang, outlined that the Silk Road Ark has a maximum capacity of 300 beds and is staffed with approximately 100 medical professionals, including doctors, nurses and technicians.

He noted that the ship was docked in Montego Bay for two and a half days, during which 1,970 patients were treated.

“They completed 277 surgeries for the local people,” he disclosed.

The Silk Road Ark has dedicated departments for Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Stomatology, Orthopaedics, Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Paediatrics, Ophthalmology and Dentistry.

Outpatient procedures completed aboard the vessel include hernia repair, cataract surgery and dental surgery.

During its stay in Port Royal, the medical team will complete outpatient procedures based on referrals from the Regional Health Authority; it will also accept walk-in patients.

The support from China’s Silk Road Ark is intended to bolster healthcare across Jamaica, as the nation recovers from Hurricane Melissa, which caused severe damage to hospitals and health centres in the western end of the island.

Health facilities in Kingston and St. Andrew saw an influx of patients from western Jamaica in the aftermath of the hurricane, placing a strain on those facilities.