Surgery for 80 kids on ship

Rahael said Cabinet agreed to the visit of the DSS Anaesthesis II, a hospital ship owned and operated by a European relief agency, which would visit under the aeges of Mission International and his ministry.

The ship has 150 surgeons who cover 200 different medical specialities, said Rahael, plus 18 operating theatres and 250 patient beds. “The vessel is equipped with the most modern equipment including two state of the art cardiac catharisation laboratories”.

Noting that some heart surgery required by children cannot be done in Trinidad, he said, “Now with the advent of this vessel and a team from Sweden that will be coming down, that is paediatric surgeons, we are hoping to eliminate that waiting list. “Some paediatric surgeries can now be done,” effused Rahael noting the waiting list is comprised of 80 young heart patients. Across all areas of need, he said, the ship will do 3,000 surgical operations. “We will publicise the dates and times that we will have our patients screened.” While the ship operates as a charity and would not be charging for the costs of its personnel and surgical operations, Rahael said that the visit involved additional “other budgetary costs” to the tune of $400,000 which would be paid by the Government. Rahael said his Ministry had two other measures to cut surgical waiting lists.

Firstly it had increased the number of operations done during the normal week of Monday to Friday. Secondly it had begun to hold operations on Saturdays and Sundays of which some 500 surgeries had been done from February to May. He hoped the three measures wold result in the elimination of surgical waiting lists within three months, a feat that has not even been achieved by the UK, USA or Canada.