Handover of medical equipment to St. Jude Hospital
By Fernelle Neptune, Ministry of Health
The St. Jude Hospital has received a donation of two significant pieces of medical equipment from the Ministry of Health, Wellness, and Elderly Affairs. The donation of a hematology analyzer and an immunoassay analyzer is expected to strengthen the delivery of diagnostic testing.
Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Jenny Daniel, said the donation signifies the continuation of the ministry’s goal to strengthen health service delivery.
“The Ministry of Health is acutely aware of the extreme significance of St. Jude Hospital as a national hospital within the south of the island and the need to ensure that the service provision is in tune with the health service delivery expectations at the hospital. So, at the Ministry of Health although we are a sister agency with oversight over the delivery of healthcare and not necessarily directly involved with the healthcare in St. Jude Hospital, we recognize the need for us to contribute and to strengthen that sector in order to relieve pressure on our other areas within the health sector.”
Minister for Health, Wellness, and Elderly Affairs Hon. Moses Jn. Baptiste said the ministry will continue working with the St. Jude Hospital to ensure that health services provided to the patients are improved.
“The analyzers will allow clients to feel more confident in healthcare services. We have challenges at the St. Jude Hospital but we are trying our very best to improve the circumstances. I know that confidence will continue to grow in our system, our doctors and in our workers in general.”
Medical Director of the St. Jude Hospital Dr. Sybil Naitram-James expressed immense gratitude to the Ministry of Health for the equipment and says this will assist them with meeting the required standards for accreditation on an international level.
“For quite some time, we have been working with frequent down time on our current hematology machines leaving us unable to offer critical emergency labs to our clients. This machine will be doing our basic complete blood count with a 5-part differential. The second machine is actually the most exciting one is our immunoassay analyzer, which we call the clia maglumi 800. It will permit us to upgrade some of the tests that we are currently offering but it also has the additional feature of being able to offer a number of other tests that we were unable to process locally.”
The new medical equipment will allow the St. Jude Hospital to test for cancer markers and hormonal testing here in Saint Lucia. The two medical equipment donated to the St. Jude Hospital is valued at EC $135, 000 dollars.
