Fray: CRH equipped to treat all emergencies, including shark bites

WESTERN BUREAU:

Following in the wake of reports earlier this week that a British national had to leave Jamaica to seek medical treatment overseas, after being bitten by a shark in St James, Dr Delroy Fray, the clinical coordinator for the Western Regional Health Authority, has sought to assure the public that local health facilities are properly equipped to address medical emergencies.

“There is no question that when it comes to emergency cases, our facilities are well equipped and ready with not only what is necessary, but also with the expertise from the consultancy level,” Fray told The Gleaner yesterday.

“Right now, every day at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), you have junior staff, middle-grade staff, trained surgeons, and consultancy surgeons on call for general surgery, orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery, gynaecologic surgery, obstetric surgery, eye surgery... . You name them all, and we are equipped to do that,” he added.

Reports surfaced in local and international media on Monday and Tuesday that the British national, Rachel Smith, was attacked by the shark while paddling in the sea off the Rose Hall Beach coastline in Montego Bay on the morning of May 8. During the attack, Smith sustained a wound to her left ring finger, which was almost severed.

According to the reports, Smith was taken to a private medical facility where she was asked to pay US$2,000 to have the wound stitched, and an additional US$25,000 for further treatment. After reportedly being told that no surgeon would be available for two weeks, Smith and her sister cut their trip short and flew to Cork, Ireland, to seek medical treatment.

Speaking on that case, Fray said that Smith was eventually treated at the CRH, which, as a public hospital, does not require patients to pay for emergency treatment in such cases.

“We do not charge patients at CRH; but you come to the Accident and Emergency Department, you get looked after, and you go about your business. It was Hospiten Montego Bay that the lady went to first, and they told her what needed to be done. But she could not afford it, and they sent her to the CRH,” said Fray. “At the CRH, we executed the emergency treatment that was necessary, and consulted with the plastic surgery team to see her at a later date, which is an appropriate treatment in that situation.”

In February this year, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton declared that Jamaica’s healthcare system is stronger now compared to 2020, thanks to local and international partnerships. That announcement came more than a year after the United States issued a Level 3 travel advisory for Jamaica in January 2024, and again in July 2024, citing concerns about crime and the healthcare infrastructure.

Meanwhile, addressing concerns about malfunctioning equipment at the CRH, which is western Jamaica’s only Type A hospital, Fray admitted that the facility’s CT scan machine had to be shut down due to a faulty UPS battery, which is expected to be rectified soon.

“There is a UPS that should be attached to the CT scanner so that if we have fluctuation in the cord, it will not affect the device. The persons who installed it, they installed it without the proper UPS, and we did not want to spoil that machine, so we had to close it back down,” said Fray. “When I spoke to them yesterday (Tuesday), they said they are getting a new UPS from abroad, and that in 48 hours it will be installed and working again.”

Fray also noted that a malfunctioning air conditioning unit at the CRH’s clinic has since had a missing part replaced, and that mould in the nursery has been removed and the affected area repainted.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com