Princess Margaret Hospital Receives Well Needed Equipment

A haematocrit machine, used for the testing of blood, and a refrigerator to store chemical products have been donated to the Princess Margaret Hospital in Morant Bay, St. Thomas.
The items, valued at approximately $100,000, are a gift from the Morant Bay branch of the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS). They were recently presented to the hospital.
In February, the Branch Manager, Valerie Holness handed over the money to Senior Medical Technologist, Mavis Blair for the purchase of the equipment.
Senior Medical Officer at the hospital, Dr. Cecil Batchelor said the hospital needed the haematocrit machine, as the present one was not functioning properly and could not be repaired. He said the refrigerator, which has been installed in the laboratory, would be used to store chemical products that have to be kept at a specific temperature.
He pointed out that the old refrigerator was often “overstocked”, and the hospital could not store the amount of chemicals needed. He said that on many occasions, chemicals had to be stored in other departments, which sometimes “created a problem” for those departments that needed the storage place.
The JNBS has been assisting the Princess Margaret Hospital for over 15 years, by providing medical items, and by furnishing the facility. Dr Batchelor said that over the years, the organization had donated an ECG machine valued at some $170,000, furniture for the laboratory and air conditioning units for the surgical and eye clinics.
“They are one of our chief corporate donors and friends, and if we have an emergency, we can always call on them to assist us, in terms of getting items or equipment that are needed, or if we have to effect emergency repairs, they come to our help,” he said.