Cardiac patients in Western Jamaica and further afield now have access to modern and affordab le diagnostic services at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, which acquired an echocardiogram machine and related equipment in 2009, to become the only institution offering this service in the government health system.
Purchase of the equipment which is critical in the diagnosis of congenital heart disease, as well as, coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease, was made possible through a J$10 million grant provided by the CHASE Fund. The Hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Anthony Smikle, commended the Fund on “its role in helping the institution to expand its services and improve the quality of its patient care.”
He notes that prior to the acquisition of the equipment, approximately 800 patients were referred for echocardiograms at private institutions, as far away as Kingston, each year.
“This machine is facilitating more timely treatment of our patients; and the Cornwall Regional Hospital is now serving a wider cross-section of persons who are being spared the inconvenience and high cost of travel to Kingston for diagnosis.”
– Anthony Smikle, Chief Executive Officer, Cornwall Regional Hospital
