KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Chain of Hope and Gift For Life medical mission has returned to Jamaica after a nearly two-year hiatus to assist 12 children at the Bustamante Hospital for Children suffering from heart conditions.

The medical mission, which has been conducting surgeries since 1997 at the only paediatric hospital in the Caribbean, completed seven procedures up to Wednesday, November 10 and is expected to perform the other five before departing on Friday.

This team, consisting of medical practitioners from the United Kingdom and the United States, is led by Dr Alan Magee, consultant cardiologist South Hampton and Lead of the Intervention Mission. Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, officially welcomed the team to the island on Wednesday at the hospital.

“The partnership between the Chain of Hope and Gift For Life team that comes a few times a year and perform these very life-saving procedures, working with the Bustamante staff, is impatient of any debate around its value, its contribution to, not just the institution and the objectives of the institution, but to the value of partnership, involving several partners, just building out this facility as well as using the facility and most of all, most importantly the value to lives and young lives.

“So, we really and truly must celebrate each visit and recognise the lesson from each visit that without partnerships we cannot advance public health and there are no ands, ifs and buts about that. That is just a reality that we have to face, accept and indeed promote,” Tufton said.

According to Chain of Hope Jamaica’s Manager, Fundraising and Operations, Nola Phillpotts Brown, the mission serves a multiplicity of purposes.

Phillpotts Brown said the different teams that travel to the island over the years, have brought a level of competency, skills, as well as medical supplies. She stated that the exchange of best practices and training is also enhanced during the visits.

Consultant paediatric cardiologist at Bustamante, Dr Sharonne Forrester, said the training that the hospital team receives is vital to improving the quality of life for children with a heart condition on the island. 

“The team coming in has helped us to do a number of patients who have been waiting for their procedures.  We still have more who need to have their procedures done, so we are hoping that in the coming year, we will be able to continue having missions as frequently as we used to, but of course that depends on what is happening with the COVID pandemic,” Forrester said.

According to Magee, the training that the local team is receiving will assist in clearing the backlog that the pandemic created.

“There are, because of the pandemic, quite a few children waiting for surgery, up to two hundred patients waiting for surgery, but I am sure the team here will be able to address this with the proper support over the time,” Magee said.

Meanwhile, the president of the Rotary Club of New Kingston, Kerese Bruce-Patterson, believes the island had an unfortunate situation last year as the pandemic prevented the mission that resulted in children, who should have gotten procedures, dying.

The Rotary Club of New Kingston and Gift for Life are among several organisations that assist with the Chain of Hope mission to visit Jamaica and conduct the procedures.