Fire forces postponement of surgeries at Princess Margaret Hospital
KINGSTON, Jamaica – The South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) says that elective surgeries at the Princess Margaret Hospital in St Thomas have been temporarily suspended due to a fire in the operating theatre at the facility.
Preliminary reports indicate that the fire started at approximately 2:00 am. The laboratory and X-ray departments, which are located directly below the operating theatre, were affected by water damage, SEHRA said in a release this afternoon.
As a result the operating theatre has been closed and emergency cases will be transferred to the Kingston Public Hospital until further notice, SERHA said.
The SERHA added that hospital staff will also be contacting patients to reschedule surgeries that were slated for tomorrow, May 3. Only emergency laboratory cases will be facilitated today, while all other appointments for the laboratory and X- ray Departments have been rescheduled beginning Wednesday.
SERHA said that their engineering team is currently assessing the extent of the damage and is working to ensure that normality can be restored to the hospital in the shortest time possible.