THE cardiac centre at the Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston will be opened in April 2016.

This was disclosed by Minister of Health Horace Dalley prior to breaking ground for a new state-of-the-art cancer treatment centre at the St Joseph’s Hospital in Kingston, on February 4.

“Children are dying because we don’t have enough space, we don’t have enough ICU beds, we don’t have enough facilities to carry out operations on these ‘angels’ who would have survived normally if they had access to good cardiac care,” he said.

The minister informed that Chairman of the National Health Fund Sterling Soares, will head the team to carry out the work necessary for the official opening.

Upon completion, the multimillion-dollar facility, which is a public-private partnership, will be the first of its kind in the region.

The cardiac centre is designed to offer full surgical and after-care service with a 10-bed intensive care unit, operating theatre and catheter lab. It will also offer specialised training for surgeons, nurses and other paediatric cardiac personnel, as well as conduct research.

Established in 1963, the Bustamante Hospital for Children is the only paediatric hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean, catering to children from birth to 12 years of age.

— JIS