Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

Persons with renal failure, living in Spanish Town, St Catherine, and its environs, are to benefit from a new haemodyalisis centre at the Spanish Town Hospital, equipped with seven machines, courtesy of businessman Ernest Hoo.

The Katie Hoo Haemodyalisis Centre is to be established in memory of Katie Hoo, mother of Ernest Hoo, who died at the facility in 1965 because the hospital was unable to find a bottle of oxygen to save her life.

As a result of this traumatic experience, Hoo started to contribute to the hospital in an effort to prevent the negative experience his mother endured from happening to others. The centre is to be opened tomorrow.

Over the years, Hoo, a recipient of the Governor-General's Achievement Award last year, has donated a standby lighting facility, an ambulance, a cold room for the kitchen and built the perimeter fencing around the hospital, among other things. He also served as chairman of the hospital's board for a brief period.

Dialysis machines

The centre is equipped with six functional and one standby dialysis machine. It also has the necessary water-treatment systems, machinery for mixing chemicals and a reprocessing machine, at an overall cost of $20 million.

Hoo said the initial plan was for him to supply the machines but the hospital did not have the infrastructure to accommodate them. He then went ahead and constructed the centre.

The opening of the centre was delayed because the water-treatment system that was recommended by the suppliers of the machines was not available at the hospital.

David Dobson, chief executive officer at the facility, said Spanish Town does not have a nephrology service, thus the centre would be operated in collaboration with the the Kingston Public Hospital. He noted that patients would be referred to the centre by the KPH.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com