MONTEGO BAY, St James

The Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay last Wednesday received a colposcope, valued at $1.2 million, from pharmaceutical distributors CariMed, strengthening the institution’s capability to fight cervical cancer.

Hospital CEO Everton Anderson noted that the donation – made at the 33-year-old hospital’s administrative offices – was “timely”.

Cornwall Regional’s only colposcope has been defective for a while now, able to provide only limited service.

“The one (colposcope) we have, the lens is not working so clearly so we are limited to what we can see,” noted Dr Dennisford Scarlett, senior resident in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the hospital.

Scarlett, who spoke to the OBSERVER WEST shortly after the presentation, commended CariMed on the donation, while pointing out that cervical cancer was the second leading cause of cancer deaths among Jamaican women.

He, however, stressed that the disease was one that could be cured, if detected at an early stage – something the colposcope will allow them to do. The colposcope is used to check for abnormal cells growing on the cervix. The presence of these cells could mean there exists a pre-cancerous condition of the cervix or, possibly, cervical cancer.

Describing the equipment as “very valuable”, Scarlett said the absence of a colposcope could result in incorrect treatment being administered to patients.

CariMed’s sales manager Heather Campbell said her organisation had opted to make the donation in light of the perceived need at the hospital, which serves Trelawny, Hanover, Westmoreland and St James.

“Cornwall Regional Hospital was a deliberate choice, as we wanted the ‘western belt’ to have access to the latest technologies, which are generally only available in the Kingston area,” she said.