The Executive Council has now approved the new CT scan fees thereby giving the Health Authority of Anguilla the go-ahead to operate the machine at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. In addition, EXCO has given its approval to a grant of US$57,170 to enable the Health Authority to make the equipment operational.
“From a functional standpoint, we now have to get our people from HMA Hospitals in Puerto Rico to send one of their radiographers to work with our personnel here to get an understanding of how the machine works,” Ralph Hodge, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Health Authority, told The Anguillian.
“First, we thought about sending our folk to Puerto Rico and then to return to Anguilla to operate the machine,” he went on. “After discussing the matter with HMA Hospitals, it was agreed that once the contractual agreement is signed and everything else is in place, including the fees, they will send someone to Anguilla to assist us. Now that we have the green light from Executive Council, we are going to do whatever is possible to ensure that we actually have the CT scan functioning.
“It is a great inconvenience to our operations in Anguilla for persons to have to go to St. Maarten for CT scans, and the time that is involved is probably not in everybody’s best interest. When we make a comparative study of what is paid in St. Martin, plus the ancillary fees, the functioning of a CT scan in Anguilla makes life cheaper for all concerned. This includes the individuals and Government and, as a matter of fact, it is much more convenient in terms of diagnosis by our professionals on the island.”
Mr. Hodge concluded: “We certainly look forward to having this machine operating on a very timely basis. We made a request to the Government of Anguilla for funds to carry out some minor repairs to the equipment. Once we have a fully-functional machine, it will improve the services that we are going to offer – not only for patients who come to this hospital – but our private clinics will have access to the equipment making it much more convenient for residents in Anguilla.”
