THE UNIVERSITY Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) is seeking private sector help to fund its largest single capital investment in 40 years an additional eight-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and two operating theatres.
The $135 million project is aimed at easing the high demands on the current ICU and operating theatre facilities and improving patient care.
Twenty million dollars have already been pledged by several companies to the project which is set to begin in March next year.
The hospital will provide $50 million and the Tony Thwaites Wing another $35 million, but this is still well short of the amount needed. It will cost $85 million to erect the new building while equipment will cost $50 million.
Every year the hospital receives about 250 referrals for open heart surgery but only 50-75 operations can be done.
"This is because all open-heart surgery patients must have an intensive care bed. If there are no beds available, the patient must wait," Colin Steele, the UHWI's board chairman, said. "The waiting list is over 100 patients. I don't need to tell you that some of these cases should not be waiting very long."
The current eight ICU beds are in such demand that patients with severe illnesses cannot be accommodated. Additionally, several other procedures are denied access to the unit because of the scarcity. These include chronic strokes and renal failures. Scientific studies have also recommended that as minimum requirements, a country the size of Jamaica should have 120 ICU beds. At present there are 18.
According to UHWI executives, the specialty operating theatres will be for cardiothoracic and neurosurgery cases and the ICU dedicated to post-operative care in these areas.
Figures from July 2001 to date show that there have been 331 referrals for neurosurgery operations and only 289 of these were performed 75 were for brain tumours and 60 for spinal operations. There are 42 patients on the waiting list, 25 of whom have brain tumours.
"By the time we get to these 25, the list would have grown further," Mr. Steele said. "When the expansion is completed, we should be able to clear the backlog."
The expansion should also allow them to perform at least 200 cardiothoracic operations a year, he said. "At that rate, we will be able to clear our waiting list in a reasonable time frame," he said.
The existing ICU will also be used to meet the huge demand for other medical cases, reducing the waiting time because of too few beds.
There will also be newer equipment, greater space and improved facilities. The project will also strengthen the capacity to keep patients in Jamaica who would otherwise seek care abroad.
Figures released at the project's launch at the UHWI yesterday showed that the hospital admits 18,000 patients each year and treats 160,000 outpatients in the clinics. Of the patients admitted, 11,300 (63 per cent) receive surgical treatment.
