After serving virtually 2,000 sufferers in Montego Bay, St. James, the Individuals’s Republic of China’s superior navy hospital ship, the Silk Highway Ark, has docked on the Port Royal Cruise Pier.
It should serve sufferers from the Company Space and surrounding communities over the subsequent three days.
The vessel was met on the pier by a delegation, together with Minister of Well being and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton; Minister of International Affairs and International Commerce, Senator the Hon.
Kamina Johnson Smith; Opposition Chief, Mark Golding; Mayor of Kingston, Andrew Swaby, and Opposition Spokesman on Well being and Wellness, Dr. Alfred Dawes, on Monday (December 8).
Talking after a tour of the vessel, Dr. Tufton famous that the ship will facilitate outpatient care, diagnostic companies, and elective surgical procedures.
“Quite a lot of procedures are already pre-planned, together with surgical procedures, dental, medicals, each for sufferers but in addition for healthcare workers. So, three days right here after which it strikes on to Falmouth, the place it is going to do the identical factor,” the Minister detailed.
He emphasised that Jamaica and China have had a long-standing helpful cooperation in well being.
“We’ve had a workforce coming right here to do eye surgical procedures. We’ve had medical personnel going to China, taking part in each medical rotation, and coaching… Chinese language personnel coming right here… and naturally the massive one is the Western Baby and Adolescent Hospital, which is a present of the Chinese language authorities. So, the connection is robust,” Dr. Tufton outlined.
In her remarks, Senator Johnson Smith affirmed that the presence of the medical ship is proof of the cooperation between the Chinese language Authorities and the Authorities of Jamaica, working for the good thing about the Jamaican folks.
“We’ve a robust friendship and cooperation with the Individuals’s Republic of China and well being is among the areas wherein now we have cooperated. In truth, throughout COVID, the Individuals’s Republic of China offered cell ambulances, cell isolation models, in addition to vaccines, private protecting gear (PPE), and different assist,” she stated.
Mrs. Johnson Smith famous, additional, that well being cooperation can also be seen within the assist being offered by China through the renovation of the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St. James.
“Well being cooperation between our two nations is robust and lively,” she emphasised.
In the meantime, China’s Ambassador to Jamaica, His Excellency Jinfeng Wang, outlined that the Silk Highway Ark has a most capability of 300 beds and is staffed with roughly 100 medical professionals, together with medical doctors, nurses and technicians.
He famous that the ship was docked in Montego Bay for 2 and a half days, throughout which 1,970 sufferers have been handled.
“They accomplished 277 surgical procedures for the native folks,” he disclosed.
The Silk Highway Ark has devoted departments for Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Stomatology, Orthopaedics, Inner Medication, Dermatology, Paediatrics, Ophthalmology and Dentistry.
Outpatient procedures accomplished aboard the vessel embrace hernia restore, cataract surgical procedure and dental surgical procedure.
Throughout its keep in Port Royal, the medical workforce will full outpatient procedures primarily based on referrals from the Regional Well being Authority; it is going to additionally settle for walk-in sufferers.
The assist from China’s Silk Highway Ark is meant to bolster healthcare throughout Jamaica, because the nation recovers from Hurricane Melissa, which triggered extreme harm to hospitals and well being centres within the western finish of the island.
Well being amenities in Kingston and St. Andrew noticed an inflow of sufferers from western Jamaica within the aftermath of the hurricane, putting a pressure on these amenities.
