Cornwall Regional Hospital saved $3.6 billion through makeshift operating theatres

The Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St James saved Jamaica an estimated $3.6 billion in emergency surgical costs over the past decade after converting four bedrooms into operating theatres to keep critical services running during its prolonged rehabilitation.

The disclosure came from Clinical Coordinator Dr Delroy Fray at Friday's official reopening of the hospital's Accident and Emergency Department.

Fray revealed that following the evacuation of the hospital's main building approximately 10 years ago, administrators were forced to rent external operating facilities, with emergency surgeries costing approximately $30 million in the first month alone.

However, then Senior Medical Officer Dr Derek Harvey and his team devised a solution, transforming four bedrooms into two fully functioning operating theatres and a recovery room.

"Over 10 years, that single innovative stroke saved this nation approximately $3.6 billion in emergency surgical costs alone, and that does not even account for the thousands of elective procedures we successfully delivered," Fray said.

Despite the hospital's bed capacity declining from 440 to 370, and subsequently to 296 following Hurricane Melissa, Fray said surgical teams maintained 75 per cent of their pre-shutdown surgical volume.

He praised the institution's healthcare workers for maintaining services through years of displacement and difficult working conditions.

The reopening of the upgraded Accident and Emergency Department marks a significant milestone in the hospital's rehabilitation, with improved patient triage, advanced diagnostic services and operating theatres designed to facilitate faster emergency interventions.

Fray described the facility as the first of its kind in Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean.

Chairman of the Western Regional Health Authority, Erica 'Busha' Clarke, said the reopening signalled a turning point in healthcare delivery for western Jamaica.

"We know the challenges that have confronted this institution. We know the sacrifices made by our healthcare workers, the patience demonstrated by our patients, and the expectations of the communities we serve," Clarke said.

"Today, we can proudly say that the progress is not just being promised; it is being delivered."

Meanwhile, Fray challenged Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton to establish an emergency medical services network capable of getting ambulances to critically ill patients across western Jamaica within five minutes.

"This I firmly believe is not a utopia. This can be our reality. We have the vision, we have the talent, and we have the capability to execute it," he declared.

Janet.Silvera@gleanerjm.com

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