Linstead Hospital receives medical equipment

The Linstead Hospital (LH), a Type-C facility, received a donation of medical equipment, valued at $2.6 million towards the opening of the paediatric ward later this year from The University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Medicine and Dentistry Class of 2027.

Among the donated items are an ECG machine, two patient monitors, four infusion pumps, and accessories, which were officially handed over to the hospital on Tuesday. Senior medical officer at LH, Dr Trevor Bygrave, emphasised the importance of the donation. He noted that the hospital, which serves over 20,000 patients annually across five parishes - St Andrew, Clarendon, St Mary, St Catherine, and St Ann - will significantly benefit from this much-needed medical equipment.

In addition, Dr Bygrave highlighted that the equipment will support the launch of a paediatric service, as 18-20 per cent of the patients seen on a monthly basis are children 11 years and under. This donation will play a crucial role in supporting the opening of this service that will further enhance the hospital's capacity to care for children.

The donation was funded through proceeds from the faculty's annual benefit play, Smoker 2024, called Love at First Wine, a Caribbean adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The production was entirely written, directed, and produced by the students.

Started in 1950 by the late Professor Barrie Hanchard and some of his classmates, Smoker was an outlet for medical and dentistry students to de-stress after their final examinations. However, over the years it evolved into a powerful tradition where third-year medical and dental students pour their hearts into creating a theatrical production to support a Type-C hospital.