Spanish Town Hospital punching above its weight - Most surgeries in Jamaica last year
Published:Friday | June 8, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Medical teams at the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine performed more surgeries last year than at any other public-health facility across the island.
The Type B facility also recorded the second-highest number of admissions for the year.
Data provided in the quarterly report published by the Ministry of Health, Vitals, show that 24,748 of the 36,059 surgeries conducted in government hospitals last year were major.
"The greatest number of major surgeries were performed at the Spanish Town Hospital (4,122), followed by the Kingston Public (3,966), Mandeville Regional (2,178), Victoria Jubilee (2,088) and Cornwall Regional (1,999)," the report stated.
The Kingston Public (KPH) and the Cornwall Regional are both Type A facilities which offer both secondary and tertiary care and are the final referral points for these services.
According to CEO of the Spanish Town Hospital, Dwayne Francis, an upsurge in the number of residential communities in St Catherine has resulted in more visits to the facility.
POPULATION INCREASE IN ST CATHERINE
He noted that the development of the highway has seen more people going to live in Linstead and more persons are also relocating to Old Harbour.
"Every accident and incident that occurs in St Catherine, the major referral point is the Spanish Town Hospital, and the hospital is considered to be the largest Type B facility, so we are borderlining patient loads similar to that of KPH," said Francis.
According to health ministry's quarterly report, 27,301 patients were admitted to KPH, while 17,463 persons were admitted to the Spanish Town Hospital between January and December 2017. St Ann's Bay and Victoria Jubilee Hospital recorded 16,599 and 15,672, respectively.
General medicine diagnosis was the most common reason for admission to hospital, accounting for (29 per cent) of admissions, followed by obstetrics (28 per cent) and general surgery (26%).
Although pledges to upgrade the Spanish Town Hospital have not yet materialised, Francis has seen enough in recent times to convince him that this promise will soon become a reality.
He noted that the Ministry of Health and the United Nations Office for Project Services are currently conducting an assessment of the hospital with the intention to get it to a Type A.
"Only recently we had a visit from the International Development Bank which, from communication, is going to be one of the major funders for the expansion of the facility into a Type A.
"They are currently in the process of doing their risk assessment of the facility and also the environs," said Francis.
"From my estimation, and from my experience in health, these types of development don't necessarily come overnight. It will come over a period. Most times, the evaluation (and) assessment period can take up to two years," added Francis.