Gov’t expected to spend around 800k for medical equipment

Government is expected to spend around $800,000 US to acquire new medical equipment for the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre (SLBMC).

The news was revealed in this week’s Cabinet notes.

Following a meeting with the new Medical Director Dr. Shivon Belle-Jarvis, Cabinet committed to the amount.

A second CT Scan Machine is among the equipment that will be immediately purchased.

In addition, to new equipment Dr. Belle-Jarvis also touched on the need for more staff.

In order to provide more nurses, the SLBMC will provide incentives for young men and women to pursue careers in nursing.

Those who are enrolled in UWI Five Islands Nursing Programme will be offered scholarships of a greater amount than that of other disciplines which are already saturated.

The SLBMC will also encourage students who are in Fifth Form and are planning to select a career, to be encouraged by monetary incentives to choose nursing. The proposal is to have a short, medium and long-term plan since it takes four years to grow new nurses.