Mandeville Regional Hospital Gets Equipment Valued at $80 Million

Equipment valued at $80 million was handed over to the Mandeville Regional Hospital, in Manchester, on June 24.

The machines, provided under the Programme for the Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality (PROMAC), will be used for the development of the High Dependency Unit (HDU) at the hospital.

“The equipment will facilitate highly specialized radiographic technology, critical care ventilation and specialized patient monitoring,” Health Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said at the handing over ceremony.

The European Union (EU) has provided €22 million ($3.3 billion) under PROMAC, which was designed following a discussion on the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Four and Five relating to reductions in the maternal and child mortality ratios.

After a mid term review of the 10th EU Development Fund, Jamaica was allocated the sum.

As part of the component on newborn and emergency obstetric care under the Programme, 11 HDUs are to be established – five maternal and six neonatal in six referral hospitals in Jamaica.

They include: Mandeville Regional; Victoria Jubilee in Kingston; Cornwall Regional in Montego Bay, St. James; Spanish Town, in St. Catherine; St. Ann’s Bay in St. Ann, and the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston.

HDUs are facilities in hospitals which offer a specific level of care to patients who require closer observation than those on the general ward, but slightly less than those in an intensive care unit (ICU).