KPH Gets Digital X-Ray Machines
By: , May 22, 2024
Photo: Rudranath Fraser
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, addresses the ceremony to officially commission three X-ray machines into service at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), located in downtown Kingston on Tuesday (May 21).
Photo: Rudranath Fraser
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (left), listens as Head of the Radiology Department at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), Dr. Gordon Palmer (right), highlights the features of one of three digital X-ray machines that were commissioned into service on Tuesday (May 21), at the hospital’s downtown Kingston location. Other members of the hospital’s Radiology Department also listen in.
Photo: Rudranath Fraser
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (left), looks on while Medical Imaging Practitioner at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), André Malcolm, demonstrates the capability of one of the three digital X-ray machines installed at the hospital. The equipment were commissioned into service on Tuesday (May 21), at the KPH’s downtown Kingston location.The Full Story
The provision of diagnostic services at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) has been strengthened with the installation of three digital X-ray machines.
The new units were provided under a project, valued at approximately $500 million, for the supply, installation and maintenance of X-ray equipment at four hospitals in the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA).
The others are Bustamante Hospital for Children, Spanish Town Hospital, and the National Chest Hospital.
Speaking at the official commissioning of the machines at the KPH downtown Kingston location on Tuesday (May 21), Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said that the new high-tech machines will improve service delivery at the hospital.
They will significantly reduce wait time, enhance diagnostic services and allow for more patients to be seen in a shorter time.
“KPH needs to have all the necessaries of a Type A facility [including] diagnostic equipment to support the hard-working staff… so that it can deliver the best service,” the Minister said.
Noting that the Government places “top priority” on improving public health delivery, Dr. Tufton said that part of the policy going forward is to ensure that facilities have updated diagnostic machines and that they are serviced on a regular basis to prevent them from going down.
“Gone will be the days when a machine breaks down because of lack of servicing, or it is so outdated or old that you expect it to be down. We have to do more to ensure that we maintain the equipment to prevent unscheduled downtime,” he said.
One of the island’s oldest medical institutions, KPH will mark 248 years of service to the public health sector this year.
The facility, which was opened on December 14, 1776, primarily serves communities in the southeast regions of Jamaica.
It offers a variety of services, including diagnostic imaging; laboratory; physiotherapy; physical rehabilitation; dietary; radiotherapy; general surgery; ear, nose and throat surgery, ophthalmology; anaesthetics; intensive care pain management; gastroenterology; haematology; dialysis; endocrinology; rheumatology; psychiatry, and cardiology.