THE University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) officially opened two new operating theatres and an eight-bed intensive care unit on Saturday.

The cardiothoracic emergency operating theatres and the surgical intensive care unit were constructed and equipped at a cost of $225 million. It has been the largest expansion project at the UHWI since 1952, and brings the number of operating theatres at the hospital to five and intensive care unit beds to 16.

The Tony Thwaites Wing of the hospital contributed $35 million, and spearheaded a fundraising programme, which attracted $115 million. The University Hospital equipped the facility with the latest state of the art equipment at a cost of $75 million.

Chairman of the Tony Thwaites Wing, Mark Thwaites called the opening of the new complex “an historic day for Jamaica’s health sector and in particular the University Hospital of the West Indies”.

Thwaites said the complex could be accessed by all Jamaicans, nothing that it was of national significance, with far reaching effects for health care in the country.

“The new facilities will enable many more Jamaicans to access the services provided at the UHWI, especially in the areas of cardiothoracic and neurosurgery, two areas that are in great demand by our population,” said Thwaites.

Chairman of the UHWI Board of Management Colin Steele said the facility would greatly reduce the waiting list for patients waiting for heart and neurosurgery. “Each year, there are about 250 referrals to the UHWI for open heart surgery but the Cardiothoracic Unit can only handle 50 to 75.

The waiting list for heart surgery today is over 100 persons. The number of persons on the waiting list for neurosurgery is over 50. The expansion will help us to significantly reduce those waiting lists and the necessity for some patients to seek treatment abroad,” said Steele.

The UHWI chairman described the facility as the finest in the Caribbean and said it should enhance the quality of health care while raising the status of the hospital as a teaching and research institution.

Health Minister John Junor, who officially opened the new complex, lauded all the contributors for making it a reality. Junor said it was a major development in the he life of the UHWI that would have far-reaching positive effects on the country’s entire health sector.

Chairman of the fundraising committee for the expansion project, R Danny Williams, thanked the more than 145 donors for their commitment to the project and Jamaica’s health system. “Without the support of our worthy donors, we could never have achieved this success and the entire Jamaica thanks them for their support,” said Williams.