Eye Care Service Delivery Boosted At Mandeville Hospital

Eye care service delivery at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, in Manchester, has been strengthened, with the opening of an ophthalmology clinic and operating theatre.

The new facility, which was officially opened by Health Minister, Hon. Horace Dalley, on January 28, was funded at accost of  more than $80 million, provided by the European Union (EU) and Scotiabank, among other stakeholders.

The money was also used to train the medical staff assigned to the facility, including ophthalmologists, optometrists and nurses.

The project was undertaken by the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA),  in collaboration with international organizations, Caribbean Council for the Blind (CCB) and Sightsavers.

In his address, the Minister welcomed the development of the clinic and operating theatre, and lauded the partnership in the project.

“I want to ensure that this programme here, in Mandeville, is replicated in all the regions. We are going to work with our partners to ensure that every single health region has an ophthalmology unit and operating theatre, so that our people can be properly served,” he added.

For his part, SRHA Chairman, Michael Stewart, said the collaboration facilitating the project “is the perfect example of the type of partnership that the government welcomes and wholeheartedly supports.”

“We recognize that we cannot, by ourselves, provide the full range of services in the way we would like. Partnerships like these will assist in transforming the health sector and improving the way we deliver health care and services to our people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officer of the CCB, Arvel Grant, said the long-term goal is to partner with the Government roll out similar services, now offered at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, at other public health institutions across the island.

Sightsavers Programme Monitoring Advisor, Philip Hand, said the provision of quality, equitable, accessible and affordable eye health services “should be an essential component of any health system.”

He lauded the partnership facilitating the project, pointing out that “the existence of this facility is a great example of what can happen when people pull together and work together.”

“Sightsavers are very proud of our role in the development of the unit,” Mr. Hand said.

The Mandeville Regional Hospital’s Eye Department client base has grown over years, moving from just 2,000 persons and 63 surgeries in 1998, to over 15,000 patients and over 500 surgical procedures per annum, with at least one surgery day per week.