Managing victims of severe burns carries a much higher cost than any other form of care in medicine, according to local plastic surgeon Dr Guyan Arscott.

He has thrown his full support behind an initiative by Petrojam to raise funds for the construction of a well-equipped burn centre in Jamaica to help minimise the need to fly patients overseas for treatment.

Dr Arscott, who is one of the plastic surgeons at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), gave the information in a video presentation that was played at the dinner and launch of the fund-raising campaign last week at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in St Andrew.

The aim is to raise roughly $250 million, initially, for construction and purchasing equipment.

“The cost of managing burns is inestimable. This highlights the need for the burn care facility. We can actually engage the treatment earlier in this country. One of the big benefits we see coming is the collaboration it allows us to have with major centres in the United States,” Dr Arscott said.

He pointed out that when severe burn cases come to the UHWI it creates a strain on the institution, underscoring the need for a dedicated, properly staffed and well-equipped burn centre.

“There are always burn injuries coming in, but the major burns are not in the majority, but when they come the demand is great on everything. You need to call out everything. If you don’t, the cry for a fly out comes up. The air ambulance fee is approaching US$50,000. The care after that costs millions of dollars. We see the cost of little procedures that we do here, and [overseas] things ballon up in terms of the cost,” Arscott said.

He shared that currently at the burn unit at UHWI there is a team, which includes general surgeons, plastic surgeons, intensivists, physiotherapists, a range of nurses and occupational therapists.

“All that team has to manage the patient intensively from they come in to the long term where they need rehabilitation,” he said.

Dr Christopher Tufton, minister of health and wellness, said that while there is a need for the modern facility, the burn units across the island that offer limited care have done well to treat the many patients each year.

“There is a misnomer that we have no burn unit. I want to clear that up. We do have facilities at UHWI, Bustamante Hospital for Children, Cornwall Regional Hospital, and Kingston Public Hospital. We see about 1,000 patients a year, most of them not severe. The current infrastructure is able to treat with these patients, but we don’t in cases of severe burns. For that reason, this advanced unit is necessary to save lives. For that reason the Ministry of Health will be a critical part of advancing the cause going forward,” he said.

Added to saving lives, the advanced unit will set Jamaica apart from other nations in the Caribbean.

“I think it is important, because Jamaica is always seen as a regional hub for advanced medical care. A lot of people come here for care. Some of the smaller islands don’t have the capacity and they have to go to Miami or some other place and it’s far more expensive. By providing this unit, we can provide additional support to our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean region. The dynamics of our environment is changing, which makes us more susceptible for the demand for a service such as this one.”

Telroy Morgan, incoming general manager of Petrojam, said that the company is delighted to “lead the fund-raising efforts to establish a world-class burn care facility at the University Hospital of the West Indies”.

He added that, “Beyond the scope of Petrojam and it’s boundaries, we ensure that our involvement in community and national development is key. So as a part of our corporate social responsibility, this burn unit is a flagship project to us.”

Petrojam has committed to giving the first $10 million towards the project, while West Indies Petroleum has pledged $5 million.