Jamaican hospital receives modern low-emitting radiation x-ray machine

Valued at $31 million, the equipment was handed over today (November 3) by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) CHASE Fund, William “Billy” Heaven, and Chairman of CHASE Board, Omar Frith, at the hospital.

In his address, Head of the Orthopaedic Department at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, Dr. Steve Mullings, explained that the C-Arm machine is an advanced medical imaging device based on X-Ray technology.

He said that one of the positives of this machine is that the falloff of radiation emitted is minimal, compared to other older X-Ray machines.

“This machine is not only vital to departments for diagnosis but you can do real-time imaging and see movements, place implants and monitor all at once. We can introduce dyes in the system and monitor the flow in the vessels, so although diagnostic, this machine is primarily used for surgery,” Dr. Mullings noted.

A number of surgical and non-surgical services can benefit from the C-Arm machine, making it an adjunct to any surgical service, he said.

Dr. Mullings pointed out that the urology, neurosurgery and cardiovascular teams can also benefit from its use, adding that it has already been put in use and has increased the department’s efficiency and repertoire.

He said they can now increase the number and types of surgeries they are able to perform, and it will decrease surgery time, injury, surgical trauma and loss of blood during surgical procedures.

“Surgical trauma to patients will be less, so incisions will be smaller and their downtime will be less, and in cases of paediatric patients, some surgeries can be done without even an incision,” Dr. Mullings noted.

He explained that bones can be set and wires passed through the skin with the use of the machine, thereby enabling patients to be discharged earlier.

Meanwhile, Mr. Heaven said that the CHASE Fund has donated a total of $166.1 million to the health sector since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

“CHASE, being a national organisation, was at the centre of the response to this health crisis, and in February 2020, we provided $20 million to the Ministry of Health and Wellness for a coronavirus public education and sensitisation programme. In March, we provided $34 million for the nucleic acid extractor for the national public health lab at the University of the West Indies, which the doctors used for the PCR testing,” he noted.

CHASE also gave $50 million to the National Education Trust for personal protective equipment (PPE) for 50,000 students in July of 2020, and in April 2021, they donated $40 million for the Gnome Sequencer, which helped to identify variants of the virus.

In November last year, CHASE provided $20 million for the construction of a field hospital at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), when bed space became short.

“In October 2021, we provided $12 million for the Savanna-la-Mar field hospital in Westmoreland,” Mr. Heaven added.