$1.3M injection

Healthcare system gets donation of 107 pieces of medical equipment

Barbados’ healthcare system has received an injection of 107 pieces of medical equipment valued at just over $1.3 million, which will benefit 13 medical centres across the island.

The government, through the India-United Nations Fund and UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), on Tuesday received the medical equipment which consists of four servers, one handheld spectrometer, 30 vascular dopplers, 25 vital sign monitors, 35 nebulisers, 12 thermal printers, a refrigerated truck and a mobile X-Ray unit, valued at US$654 750 (US$1.3 million).

The equipment was officially handed over to the Government during a ceremony at the Hilton Resort.

Chief Medical Officer Dr The Honourable Kenneth George said the donation would benefit all Barbadians through the enhanced service delivery to a wide array of healthcare institutions, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), polyclinics, district hospitals, and the Barbados Drug Service.

“This donation will accelerate our vision of universal health for Barbadians,” Dr George said.

In addition to the QEH, the donated equipment will be utilised at the Branford Taitt Polyclinic, David Thompson Health and Social Services Complex, Edgar Cochrane Polyclinic, Eunice Gibson Polyclinic, Glebe Polyclinic, Maurice Byer Polyclinic, Randall Phillips Polyclinic, Winston Scott Polyclinic, St Lucy District Hospital and St Philip District Hospital.

The agreement between the Government of Barbados and the India-UN Development Partnership Fund for this project was signed earlier in 2023. The procurement and delivery process has been completed after 10 months.

High Commissioner of India to Barbados, Dr Shankar Balachandran, who handed over the donation, said: “I would like to congratulate UNOPS for this and also for effecting a saving of 11 per cent due to its efficient procurement process and passing on the savings to Barbados with the procurement of five additional vital sign monitors and 12 thermal printers within the project’s original budget.”

Director of the UNOPS Multi-Country Office for the English & Dutch Caribbean and Costa Rica, Martín Arévalo, said the project was being managed by UNOPS in a comprehensive manner, safeguarding the procurement and delivery process while strictly adhering to the requirements of health authorities in Barbados, “ensuring the highest quality, transparency and performance of the economic resources provided to leave no one behind, in full alignment with the principles of fair public management”.

Meanwhile, Senior Radiographer in the Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging at the QEH, Dr Susan Sookoo said the prevention of nosocomial infections among infants and the immune-suppressed will be assisted with the addition of the mobile X-ray unit.

Dr Sookoo said: “The most gracious and urgently needed donation will complement the single mobile unit presently in use through recognised service to the most vulnerable population within the hospital.”

The donated refrigerated truck will play an integral role in linking the drug distribution service between the more than 15 pharmacies that are part of the Barbados Drug Service.

Director of the Barbados Drug Service (BDS) Delores Mascoll said: “Medicines are temperature-sensitive items, and to ensure the efficacy of the products, it is essential that the products be transported in a temperature-controlled manner. This vehicle will, therefore, fulfil a need that has existed at the BDS for many years and will be utilised every day in the safe delivery of medicines to the pharmacies.”
(AH)