Persons needing surgeries to remove foreign objects from the oesophagus would have to be transferred to hospitals in Kingston; however this and other services will be boosted at the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Department at the Mandeville Regional Hospital following a donation of clinical equipment to enable emergency and surgical intervention for adults.

The support comes from non-profit organization, Manchester Wellness Foundation which held its Run/Walk on July 2 to raise funds to purchase equipment for the department.

On Friday, July 22, the clinical instruments including suction tubes and biopsy forceps were handed over to the Mandeville Regional Hospital which Head of the ENT Department, Dr. Andrew Manning noted will be able to perform mammoth tasks, despite the sizes of the instruments.

The donations are part of Phase 1 of the support from the Manchester Wellness Foundation and in the second phase, equipment will be provided to address the needs of paediatric patients.

Dr. Andrew Manning noted that the hospital is very grateful to the Wellness Foundation for being selected as the beneficiary of the Run/Walk which will allow the department to handle more procedures than it was able to.

“The ear, nose and throat needs in the region are great and we are very grateful for the assistance. The support from the community is essential in improving the services of the department and this support from the Manchester Wellness Foundation represents a great public/private partnership which we are happy for” Dr. Manning added.

Since the staging of events in 2010, the Foundation has raised and disbursed in excess of $11 million to hospitals and health centres in Manchester.