Operating theatres reopen at KPH

After being closed for almost two months, the four main operating theatres at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) have been reopened.

Chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) Wentworth Charles told The Gleaner that the theatres resumed operations last Tuesday following renovation and mould sanitisation.

“While it can be said that this was a testing period, we think we managed it as best as we could, and we think we managed it satisfactorily. We had no major complaints from our patients, although they were severely inconvenienced,” he said.

The four operating theatres at the island’s premier trauma hospital had been out of service since February, initially because of a malfunctioning air-conditioning (AC) system.

However, Charles said that, during this period, the decision was taken to undergo other critical repairs as part of scheduled renovations taking place in hospitals across the region.

According to the chairman, the region received almost $200 million to address the damage that occurred during Hurricane Beryl and other issues the hospitals were experiencing.

He said work was done on the two operating theatres at the Princess Margaret Hospital in St Thomas, and on the air-conditioning system at the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

LEAKAGE IN THEATRES

Additionally, the funds were used to address the “significant” leakage that was happening in KPH’s operating theatres.

“The walls were stripping, a pipe that was on the roof … burst and water was running down on the ceiling tile, and all of that,” he said.

He added: “We decided that we were going to close all four theatres to do full infrastructure repair there. We discovered at a point that there was also mould that affected the theatre and mildew from water that came into the ceiling during Hurricane Beryl, and also from leaking pipe.”

Charles said a test for mould was done by environmental personnel, who advised on adjustments to the air-conditioning system. He noted that the recommendation was implemented, and approved by the mould inspectors.

“In every operating theatre, there is a requirement for deep cleaning of the theatre and for air quality test to be done to ensure that the standards, both internationally and nationally, are maintained in the theatre, making it safe for operational purposes,” he said.

However, he said, the hospital management is still working to address some issues of humidity which occur from “time to time”, but said the doctors have assured them that they are satisfied.

Stating that 200-250 surgeries are performed at the hospital each month, Charles said they were reassigned to other hospitals during that period. Additionally, equipment was moved to the neighbouring Victoria Jubilee Hospital for surgeries to be conducted.

“We are satisfied that we were able, notwithstanding the emergency, to carry out all the important functions that we would have normally carried out during the period,” he said. “We monitored other patients whose procedures may have been postponed and managed as the doctors saw fit.”

Highlighting the importance of KPH, which serves more than 40,000 people each month and employs more than 400 doctors, Charles acknowledged that the nearly 250-year-old building will occasionally face challenges.

“In any medical setting, your theatre goes down from time to time and you have to take stock,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com