Health Minister Julius Timothy has said that the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) will benefit from new state of the art equipment in 2013 and is expecting a Chinese-funded hospital to begin in the new year.
“We intend to get a new CT scan, new state of the art mammograms, we intend to re-equip the entire neonatal ward,” Timothy revealed.
He noted that the new hospital is expected to begin in the new year. “I am expecting that with the new hospital that the Chinese will assist us in procuring some new equipment,” he stated.
According to Timothy, he is pushing for the installment of an MRI Machine at the hospital.
“There are cases that are severe and by the time you send the person overseas the person would have died, so we need our own equipment,” he pointed out, adding that although the use of the machine might be costly, it will be much cheaper than persons having to pay air fare and hotel accommodation to travel for medical attention.
The machine is expected to cost approximately $1.5-million.
A new oncology department and a fully equipped conference room are also expected for the new year at PMH.
Timothy also stated that the services provided at the hospital will be enhanced. According to him, a team of doctors including an accident and emergency specialist, radiologist, surgeon and oncologist are expected in 2013 to give service to Dominica.Meanwhile, the Health minister described the year 2012 as a trying year for his ministry because of the current global economic situation.
According to the minister, the government of Dominica has not been able to come forward with the resources required.
He stated there was an increase in the number of tuberculosis cases during 2012, however this was dealt with very well by the medical staff.
“At the moment we just completed a new, temporary building where we hope to put the tuberculosis patients. We did not want so many tuberculosis patients in the general ward but the population has diminished dramatically …. so far our intervention has gone very well,” he said.
Timothy also added that there has been an increase in the number of leptospirosis cases and neonatal deaths.
