CHASE Fund Supports UWI Medical Training Lab

KINGSTON — The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, opened its newly constructed state-of-the art CHASE Carnegie Skills Laboratory, for the training of medical students and residents in a modern setting, on Thursday July 21.

The facility, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, was constructed and equipped at a cost of some $35 million by the Department of Surgery at the UWI, Mona, in collaboration with the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund and the UWI Alumni.

The lab will assist medical students and residents to acquire skills, through the use of patient models, surgical simulators, cadavers, and anaesthetized animal models in a modern state of the art setting. The lab will also enable distance teaching and video conferencing.

Speaking at the official opening, at the Department of Surgery, Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer, said that with the CHASE Fund contributing some $25 million, the lab represented another major investment by the Government in the training and development of Jamaicans.

He also argued that the time had come for the partners in training and education to work with industry players to develop a manpower plan, to procure and retain critical skills in the health sector.

Mr. Spencer said this manpower plan must be informed by evidence relating to factors, as the disease profile of the country and the ageing population.

“We will shortly be in a better position to develop a credible plan, using scientific tools given by the needs-based study that was done collaboratively with the (Pan-American Health Organisation) PAHO, Dalhousie University, Ministry of Health and the University of the West Indies,” he stated.

Mr. Spencer also stated that, in moving forward, a holistic approach must be taken relating to the training and development of suitable workers in the health sector.

“No single area or category should be singled out, but rather the approach moving forward needs to be based on the understanding that a health sector with an abundance of one set of skills, but with few (others), cannot provide quality care to the public,” he argued.

He said the Ministry was open to dialogue with industry players, with respect to building up human resource in the health sector.

“That dialogue must proceed on the principle of equity, in the development of the scarce resources that we have at our disposal,” Mr. Spencer said.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CHASE Fund, W. Billy Heaven, expressed satisfaction that the agency’s contribution would improve the training environment for medical students and residents, allowing them to perfect their surgical skills without risk to patients.

“The Fund’s ultimate goal is to build human capital, enhance technology and strengthen the capacity of institutions, like the UWI, which serve the development needs of people,” he added.

Head of the Department of Surgery, Radiology, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, UWI, Mona, Professor Ivor Crandon, said that since the UWI’s enrollment of medical students has grown from 30 to approximately 300 each year.

He said the opening of the skills lab was a milestone event in the history of the University, as with more students to educate more training opportunities were also needed. The lab is equipped with teleconferencing equipment to facilitate communication with other training campuses. Other features include a microsurgical training room and four teaching stations.

Professor Candon said a section of the lab will also be devoted to laparoscopic surgery, which involves the use of telescopes. He said that this will help students to master both the surgical techniques and manipulation of the equipment. 

The lab was named after the late Dr. Alfred Carnegie, who served as Senior Medical Officer at the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, Westmoreland in the 1940s. He also taught Anatomy and Physiology at the UWI. He died in 2003 at age ninety.

By ATHALIAH REYNOLDS, JIS Reporter