Gov’t Invests $700 Million To Purchase Diagnostic And Other Equipment For Hospitals

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says that the Government has invested $700 million to purchase diagnostic and other medical equipment for three hospitals across the island.

These are Spanish Town in St. Catherine; St. Ann’s Bay, St. Ann; and the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon.

To be facilitated under the Health Services Support Project funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), this investment will see the purchase of three CT scan machines, three X-ray machines, dental equipment, and machinery for operating theatres at the facilities.

Minister Tufton, in a statement in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (November 10), said that the acquisition of the diagnostic equipment will speed up the process for assessment and treatment of patients at hospital, thereby reducing extended stay and overcrowding.

He noted that one of the main issues that affect service delivery at public health facilities is the lack of appropriate infrastructure to enable clinicians to access information in a timely manner, so that they can assess and diagnose illnesses and devise the appropriate treatment.

“This delay impacts several aspects of the healthcare delivery, specifically bed-stay-time in hospital. This then, of course, has a ripple effect and impacts the turnover rate of beds and ultimately contributes to overcrowding,” he added.

Dr. Tufton noted that the Ministry now has a database of all diagnostic equipment within the public health system and a comprehensive assessment has been done.

“Based on this assessment, over 70 per cent of the equipment in public facilities is either near or at the end of its useful life. The assessment has also shown that over 40 per cent of equipment bought by the Government are out of use due to lack of maintenance or insufficient maintenance or lack of appropriate parts for repair,” he noted.

The Health Minister assured that, over time, under the IDB and other programmes, the Government intends to equip the country’s hospitals with the basic minimum diagnostic equipment “but still maintain a relationship [with the private sector] for when we have gaps in the system”.