New equipment turned over to K.H.M.H.

“When the health sector is under-resourced, the quality of care suffers.” So said Health Minister Jose Coye in handing over obstetric and paediatric equipment to the staff of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital earlier this evening. In receiving the donation, medical chief of staff Dr. John Waight, said today’s presentation is part of a larger capital infusion already made to hospitals countrywide.

Dr. John Waight, Medical Chief of Staff

“This is like a resuscitation set for a new born baby. There is an overhead warmer, which provides warmth for a newborn. There is a light, which provides ultraviolet light, which is used in the treatment of neonatal jaundice. At the bottom of the rack, there is an oxygen cylinder, from which oxygen can be transmitted direct to the newborn baby. There is a very complex and very needed piece of equipment colloquially called “the baby Doppler.” When the mother is delivering, it’s like a cardiograph that records the contractions of the uterus and also records the beating of the baby’s heart. Every time the mother’s womb contracts, the baby’s heart is supposed to go through certain changes and if these become irregular, it can be detected at an earlier stage and an elective C-section can be performed in time to preserve the baby in a healthy situation. We have a couple monitors that measure blood pressure, pulse, oxygen circulation and so on. We are setting up our intensive care unit, and that is a very vital piece of equipment. Further on, there is a defibrillator, which is the machine that shocks the heart back to life when it stops. This is also a very necessary piece of equipment for when that situation arises.”

Today’s handing over of medical equipment to the K.H.M.H. totals over eight hundred thousand dollars in government expenditure.