SOUTH East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) on Monday announced the award of a contract to IRAD Medical Supplies Limited for the supply, delivery, installation, and commissioning of 10 state-of-the-art anaesthetic machines across health-care facilities within its jurisdiction. The contract also includes a comprehensive preventative maintenance service agreement for five years.

The total value of the contract stands at $100,247,991.36 million for the anaesthetic machines, with an additional $32,850,321.00 million allocated for the five-year preventative maintenance services. These state-of-the-art machines will be deployed to key hospitals within the SERHA network, directly benefiting patients and health-care providers with advanced anaesthetic technology. The hospitals that will benefit from this contract are:

• Princess Margaret Hospital

• Spanish Town Hospital

• Kingston Public Hospital

• Victoria Jubilee Hospital, and

• Bustamante Hospital for Children.

The machines will be delivered, installed, and fully commissioned within eight to 12 weeks from the signing of the contract, ensuring availability of anaesthetic machines within SERHA’s hospitals.

Speaking at the contract-signing ceremony, Wentworth Charles, board chairman of SERHA, emphasised the importance of the investment: “This investment in modern anaesthetic equipment underscores our commitment to improving the quality of health-care services provided to the people of the south-east region.”

Lascelles Brown, acting regional director of SERHA, explained that the board instructed that contracts for all medical equipment include a service level agreement for effective maintenance. He explained that: “As part of this contract the anaesthetic machines will be supported by a five-year preventative maintenance plan. The objective is to ensure that the anaesthetic machines remain in optimal working condition, thereby reducing the likelihood of downtime and supporting long-term sustainability for our health-care facilities.” Ashli O’Connor, sales manager at IRAD Medical Supplies Limited, expressed the company’s commitment to improving health care in Jamaica: “Our goal is to deliver world-class medical equipment and services that improve the quality of care in Jamaican hospitals. These new anaesthetic machines will significantly benefit both medical team and patients, and we look forward to contributing to patient care delivery,” he said.

IRAD Medical Supplies Ltd, a distributor and retailer of medical supplies, is headquartered in Kingston. Since 2011 IRAD has supplied doctors, patients, medical facilities and hospitals with surgical supplies.

The company said it built a reputation of quality, reliability, excellent service and affordability, and has impacted the lives of a number of Jamaicans — most notably in the areas of cancer treatment and dialysis — by substantially improving the accessibility to surgical items needed for minimally invasive procedures.

The company’s strategic partnerships with suppliers in China, the United States and Europe have allowed it to offer cutting edge medical devices, ensuring that Jamaican health-care facilities benefit from the latest innovations in medical technology.