The Princess Alexandra Hospital in Anguilla has taken on greater efficiency with a fully operating theatre after waiting for more than a year for all the equipment to be sourced, purchased and installed in a new and upgraded location at the institution.
The centrepiece is an ultra-modern modular laparoscopic tower with the capacity of adding on other specialised machinery to its electronic structure. It is said to be one of the most versatile, costly and sought-after piece of medical, surgical and scientific equipment – in the Caribbean region.
The Manager of the Operating Theatre, Nurse Erdelle Fleming, showcased the facility at a brief ceremony on Monday, July 5, with the only programme item being a prayer by Pastor Philip Gumbs of the Church of God (Holiness). “We are here for the opening of the Operating Theatre. We have been awaiting this for the longest time,” she told the gathering of medical, surgical and nursing personal and members of the media. “It has been well over a year since we moved to this new location, and now we are just here to bless this place, because without God nothing is possible.”
Nurse Fleming started the tour of the facility at a modern computer system to store and retrieve critical patient information. She went on to show the new recovery unit with some four dedicated beds and some treatment facilities; the caesarean section machine used in the delivery of babies; another machine to control bleeding; dispensing equipment; storeroom; change rooms; scrub room and a sterilisation room – among other facilities including a kitchenette and lounge area for hard working, tired and late night personnel.
Among the medical and surgical personnel on the tour was the 39-year-old Consultant General Surgeon from the Ukraine, Dr. Dmytro Mlalkovskyl MD, who spoke about the various operations that can be performed using the Laparoscopic tower and related attachments. Others included Anguillian Obstetrician, Dr. Brett Hodge, who was booked to perform a surgical procedure on that day; and Mr. Malcolm Webster, of Anguilla, the Facilities Manager. He estimated the cost of the equipment in the operating theatre – not including its installation and other services – to be close to two million US dollars, provided by the UK Government.
It was a most enlightening tour. It not only showcased the equipment and services of the new Operating Theatre, but highlighted the fact that patients in Anguilla can obtain many medical, health and surgical services on their own island without going abroad.
According to Nurse Fleming, there is a second Operating Theatre at the Princess Alexandra Hospital but, at present, it has to be recommissioned.
