Long-awaited surgeries begin under Project CODE CARE Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

The first five prostate surgeries were completed successfully, and the patients now recovering at the Montego Bay Hospital in St James, following the signing of a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with private health facilities in western Jamaica under Project CODE CARE.

Approximately 200 surgeries, including hernia and hysterectomy, are to be completed in the first instance, in keeping with the public-private partnership component of Project CODE CARE as announced by the Minister of Health & Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, during his sectoral presentation in Parliament early this year.

Project CODE CARE has a mission geared at reducing the surgical backlog by 2,000 over 12 months and reducing wait times for elective surgeries to less than 180 days.

Visiting the facility where the first set of surgeries was being completed, Dr Tufton noted, “I am pleased to see that we have begun to act on our recently signed MOU with our private partners.

“I am relieved that many Jamaicans will benefit from this programme, including persons who have been waiting as long as six years for surgery. These patients can now recover and return to some semblance of a normal life,” he said.

He said since March 2020 many hospitals have had to suspend the “normal processing of elective surgeries, which has resulted in the extension of the length of time that people wait for these operations, sometimes up to two years”.

“One can only imagine the pain and suffering that those Jamaicans have to bear waiting for a procedure, but due to the COVID-19-related priorities cannot get this procedure done,” Dr Tufton said.

The ministry said the mission for Project CODE CARE will be achieved through public-private partnerships, procurement of surgical equipment, nursing missions, project management, and rehabilitation of operating theatres at some public hospitals.

NewsAmericasNow.com