Falmouth General Hospital gets medical equipment

Marion Johnson was the first person to have surgery performed using Falmouth General Hospital’s new, state-of-the-art laporoscopy machine which was recently donated to the hospital by overseas-based benefactors – Jamaica Awareness Association of California Inc (JAAC).

Johnson, who had her gall bladder removed, was awed and thankful.

“I am so grateful to be the guinea pig. It was done so fast and I am up and about in one day. Most of all I could not afford to have it done in a private hospital. God is a good God and I am thankful,” Johnson said.

The $45-million laparoscopy machine was donated to the hospital last Thursday by JAAC president Patrick Williams, a Jamaican resident in California, who led a group of volunteers to the hospital for the handover, and to do a demonstrative surgery.

“We are in our 35th year of (making) donations to different organisations in the medical and educational fields throughout Jamaica,” revealed Williams.

He explained that the group raises funds each year to purchase educational and medical equipment in order to make donations in Jamaica. “In a meeting with the hospital management staff JAAC was told of the need for a laparoscopic machine, (so) the decision was made to purchase the machine.” Williams says the group was able to make the donation of the machine, have a team of doctors doing an operation, and also provide training to doctors who are assigned to the hospital.

“Not only were the doctors trained in conducting the operation but also they were taught how to care for the machine,” said Williams.

Dr Leighton Perrin, senior medical officer (SMO) at the hospital, was a happy recipient. He outlined the value of the equipment to the hospital community.

“This is a monumental donation. It affords us to do non-invasive operation, it allows for quicker and time-saving operations, (and) we can now do more operations which include gynaecological,” Perrin said.

On hand to witness the handover ceremony was St Andrade Sinclair, director of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA).

“A donation like this is highly appreciated. The backlog of patients waiting for operations will be greatly reduced,” noted Sinclair.