Falmouth Hospital's state-of-the-art theatres to be commissioned
Published:Wednesday | July 20, 2016 | 12:00 AMMark Titus
The state-of-the-art operating theatres at the Falmouth Hospital in Trelawny, which were built to coincide with the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, will finally be commissioned into operation by month end.
"It was a project that we took on as soon as we had our first board meeting and we are almost there. We expect that it will be commissioned by month end," said Merrick Fray, board member of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA).
"It will be a real state-of-the-art facility and we are simply glad to finally have it up and running."
Fray, however, could not provide a cost for the project, which he said came mainly from the hospital's budget, with individuals coming on board to make significant contributions.
"We had great support because it was falling into disrepair," he revealed. "The air-condition unit was out and part of the facility was being used as a storeroom, but now we are dealing with the AC unit, and a storeroom is now under construction."
The operating theatres and diagnostic centre were developed as part of the Accident and Emergency Unit dubbed 'Little Miami' because of the many and varied features it was expected to offer. The unit was constructed at a cost of $350 million to meet the possible demands of the international cricket tournament, which had its opening ceremony at the Trelawny Multipurpose Stadium but was used instead as office space for the chief executive officer and acting matron. It was also used as a storeroom, while surgical procedures were carried out in a surgery room constructed in 1954.
Prior to this, the WRHA has had to suspend surgery at the facility to facilitate much-needed repairs to the old operating theatre, but Fray is confident that plans by the Tony Hart-led board will see improvements.