The delivery of urology services at the Mandeville Regional Hospital in Manchester has been strengthened through the donation of critical pieces of equipment valued at over J$21 million.

The instruments, used in diagnosing and treating conditions related to the urinary tract and male reproductive system, were gifted by the Manchester Wellness Foundation, which has been a longstanding supporter of the public health facility.

Speaking at the handover ceremony at the hospital last Friday (October 3), urology consultant Dr Davon Mitchell said the tools provided will enhance the diagnosis of patients, allowing for more precise and minimally invasive treatments.

This will enable patients to heal better and faster, with improved outcomes.

“Patients remain in hospital for shorter periods, usually one to two days or so and sometimes less. Sometimes, patients will come in on the morning of the procedure, get their procedure done and go home, and we do so with the patients having minimal functional outcomes. They have [fewer] scars, they bleed less, and they recover faster. That is an integral part of urology,” Mitchell said.

Manchester Wellness Foundation chairman Herschel Ismail said that the organisation has a mandate to support the improvement of health services in the parish.

“Our job is to strategise, to raise funds [to assist] health facilities, whether it is a primary or secondary care facility,” she noted.

Ismail informed that the foundation adopted the hospital’s ENT (ear, nose and throat) department nine years ago, donating well-needed equipment.

“They no longer need to transport patients to Kingston. All the [ENT] cases are done here, and we are now in our fourth year of adoption of the urology services,” she said, noting that the equipment provided will boost service delivery.

“I am sure the doctors themselves are motivated to be using new, state-of-the-art equipment. Now, for us as a foundation, we are few in number, but we have big hearts from which our generosity flows”, she said.

Urology services involve medical and surgical treatment for a range of conditions affecting the urinary tract in men and women, as well as the male reproductive system. 

These include managing kidney stones, urinary tract infections, urinary and erectile dysfunction, as well as treating prostate issues, urologic cancers and male infertility.

Various procedures are offered for urological conditions, from minimally invasive treatments to surgical interventions.