Annotto Bay Hospital leads drive in laparoscopy surgeries
PORT MARIA, St Mary — The Annotto Bay Hospital in collaboration with Jamaica Awareness Association of California (JAAC) is continuing its drive to improve awareness of laparoscopic surgeries in Jamaica.
The group staged the ninth annual laparoscopic conference at the Port Maria Civic Centre on Sunday, June 2 where doctors and nurses across the country where given information on the new technological procedure.
The conference continued later in the week with the doctors and nurses getting hands-on training.
One of the aims of the conference, according to Dr Ray Fraser, senior medical officer at the
Annotto Bay Hospital, is to place doctors and nurses in rural Jamaica “on the cutting edge of technology.”
Over the last nine years, over 900 laparoscopic surgeries have been done at the Annotto Bay Hospital, spearheading the drive for the use of the modern technology in medicine to become more widespread in rural Jamaica.
JAAC has been instrumental in the hospital acquiring equipment in order to carry out the surgeries. The organisation has also been spending millions towards the yearly conference. Over the last nine years, JAAC has spent almost $200 million towards the yearly conference.
Dr Fraser said that laparoscopic surgeries will not only allow medical practitioners to be up to date with new technology, but is set to benefit patients who would have to travel to Kingston to get the procedure done.
Laparoscopy is less invasive on the patient, allowing them to heal faster. This can be both economical for the patient as well as medical institutions. People heal much faster after surgery and so find that they can return to their daily activities much faster.
This, Dr Fraser explained, not only benefits the patients, as the hospital will keep patients for a shorter time. Also, there are fewer complications associated with laparoscopic surgeries, which would mean less resources would be used by the hospital.
Among the presenters on Sunday was Dr Tyler Lucas, chief of orthopaedic surgery at the Metropolitan Hospital in New York.
The team from this year’s conference also visited the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, as well as the Kingston Public Hospital later in the week.
In the meantime, the JAAC held several medical clinics in St Mary and St Ann during last week. The organisation, which has been giving to Jamaica in both medicine and education over the years, has vowed to continue its support.
Speaking at the laparoscopic conference on Sunday, Yasmin Facey president of the association said that the group would also continue to award scholarships to high school students.