ST JAMES, Jamaica – Clinical Coordinator at the Western Regional Health Authority, Dr Delroy Fray, says a burn unit is being developed at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH).

He said the unit is among a wide range of expanded and new services to be provided at the hospital.

Dr Fray was speaking at a town hall meeting to update the public on the rehabilitation of Cornwall Regional Hospital, held at the Montego Bay Civic Centre in St James on March 23.

A burn unit is a specialised facility that provides advanced care and treatment for patients with severe burns.

Dr Fray noted that the old hospital building had a dedicated area in the Intensive Care Unit for burn victims, which will now be re-established.

“In the past, we have had a great plastic surgeon…who has developed the protocols that are concerned with that. What we need now is the physical facility to implement such a unit and that is on the drawing board and will be implemented,” he said.

Meanwhile, the clinical coordinator said following the completion of renovation work, the hospital is set to provide an array of 35 Type-A medical services, up from 27.

Additional services will include an endoscopy suite, infectious disease specialty, pulmonology, endocrinology, facio-maxillary, feto-maternal and reproductive endocrinology, as well as cardiothoracic services.

“We are going to get a renewed maternal high-dependency unit, with 10 beds, and our internal medicine area will now have four high-dependency beds. We will have a new ophthalmology suite and operating theatre,” Dr Fray said.

“We will have an expanded cardiology unit, a central sterilise service department, increase imaging service in collaboration with the Western Children Adolescent Hospital and we will now have Magnetic Resonance Imaging service at CRH,” he added.

Dr Fray informed that some of the services have been partially introduced, even as the hospital operates in relocated spaces to facilitate the upgrade of the main building.

“We have a specialist in infectious disease and a microbiologist on staff. We have a feto-maternal specialist who we sent for training at the university, and there is a gynae oncologist in training as well and we are looking forward to getting a trained endocrinologist to join the service,” he explained.

Additionally, Dr Fray disclosed that patients will be able to access free colonoscopy services as soon as the rehabilitated hospital becomes operational.

“Every single person, it does not matter what problems you have, once you are over 45 years of age, you should have a colonoscopy done. In the private sector, the cost of a colonoscopy will run you somewhere about $65,000. We want to put in a suite where our public patient will be able to access colonoscopy services at the Cornwall [Regional] Hospital free of cost,” the Clinical Coordinator revealed.

The scope of work for the redevelopment of the hospital is projected to cost approximately $14.1 billion.