THE JAMAICA Broilers Group has contributed $3 million toward the construction of two Operating Theatres and an eight-bed Intensive Care Unit at the University Hospital.
In making the announcement today, the President and CEO of Jamaica Broilers, Robert Levy, said the amount would be presented in three tranches, with the final one set for May, 2005.
The project is expected to cost about $86 million and Tankweld Limited has agreed to erect the building at cost.
TWO NEW OPERATING THEATRES
The Tony Thwaites Wing is to contribute $35 million toward the building of the two new Operating Theatres, which will enable more Jamaicans to access services in the areas of cardiothoracic and neurosurgery, both of which are in great demand in Jamaica.
In addition, the University Hospital has committed to provide equipment for the new facilities at a cost of $50 million. Meanwhile, the Board of Directors of the University Hospital is hoping to raise an additional $50 million from private sector companies such as Jamaica Broilers to meet the shortfall. The Group has already paid over its first $1 million tranche.
The University Hospital admits about 18,000 patients each year and treats nearly 60,000 outpatients in the clinics. About 65 per cent of the 11,3000 patients admitted are provided with surgical treatment in the Main, Minor and Specialty operating theatres.
The Main Operating Theatre suite, which was constructed in 1961, consists of five Operating Rooms, where over 3,500 major surgical procedures are performed annually. However, over the past 15 years, there has been significant growth in the demand for both emergency and elective surgical procedures, with the facilities becoming inadequate.
HIGH RATE OF TRAUMA
The primary concern of the University Hospital is that with the high rate of trauma in the society, due to violence and motor vehicle accidents, emergency surgery has to be accommodated at the expense of elective surgical procedures.
The expansion plan will double the number of beds in the University Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, with the proposed new eight-bed unit furnished with state-of-the art equipment.
