Cornwall Regional to do more eye surgeries

A three-year wait for eye surgery is coming to an end for St James resident Ioline Hylton.

She has been waiting for the chance to undergo cataract surgery and, with the opening of a new ophthalmic suite at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in the parish, she is expressing gratitude.

"I found out that I'm not seeing properly and, when I went to the ophthalmologist, she said she saw cataract. So, I've been waiting for this chance since 2020. Right now, everything is just blurry for reading and all of that; it is really a challenge. So, thank you to the team and doctors," she said.

The suite was officially opened last Wednesday, marking a major achievement in enhancing eyecare services across western Jamaica. Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, Dr Charmaine Scarlett, noted the transformative impact of the new facility, which is a joint initiative of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) and the Eye Health Institute and the University of Michigan in the United States. She explained that the suite houses a main operating suite and a minor one/recovery room, adding that the facility is also equipped with patient and staff bathrooms, storage areas and dedicated cleaning space. All pieces of equipment, including two surgical beds, two operating microscopes, and specialised surgical tools, were donated, thereby ensuring that the suite meets the highest standard of ophthalmic care.

"With this new operating suite, we now are able to [do more surgeries] and accept many more medical missions," Scarlett said.

"So far, we have had three missions for the year, and the first mission started at the opening of our suite, which was in June. Up to date, we have done about 130 cataract [surgeries] and about 32 minor procedures."

Scarlett said the goal is to expand operations to three days per week, which is a significant increase from the current once-per-week schedule outside of medical missions. She also emphasised the far-reaching positive impact on patients, particularly those unable to afford private care, underscoring how restoring vision can uplift not only individuals but entire families impacted by the condition.

"We have had tremendous difficulties over the past years after the hospital towers closed. Then came COVID-19 and we were further reduced to one operating theatre per quarter (every three months)," Scarlett indicated.