Monique Hepburn, Staff Reporter

WESTERN BUREAU:

AS HURRICANE Ivan ap-proaches Jamaica, emergency preparation is well under way at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St. James, where doctors yesterday started to evaluate patients with a view to sending home those without severe ailments.

"In keeping with the Ministry of Health's disaster preparedness programme, patients who are not in need of critical care will be sent home on Thursday (today) in preparation for a direct hit by Hurricane Ivan," said Clinton Pickering, spokesman for the Western Regional Health Authority.

The WRHA is giving the assurance that the relatives of patients being sent home will be notified in a reasonable time so that the necessary arrangements can be made for their removal.

According to Mr. Pickering, all members of the hospital staff are being put on alert so that they will be able to respond in the event Hurricane Ivan hits the island. All elective surgeries will be halted as the operating theatres will only be handling emergency surgeries.

"We will be rescheduling elective surgeries because the operating theatres need to be available in the event of emergencies," Mr. Pickering said.

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