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Port Antonio is one of the most beautiful spots in Jamaica. These photographs were taken from the parking lot of the hospital.

…..Well, today was one of those days, when things just don’t happen as planned. Most of the day was spent on the road driving between Ocho Rios and Port Antonio.

This morning, there was an accident on the main road near Port Maria, so the driver, Steve, was delayed in picking me up. It’s a long drive to Port Antonio, so Steve planned to wait until rounds and clinic were complete, then we would return to Ocho Rios. We expected to be done by 1 or 2 pm.

We were just about approaching the Port Antonio Hospital when he received an urgent call that he was needed at Annatto Bay Hospital. The urgency was related to the need to transport a sick preemie to St Anns Bay Hospital. When I arrived on the pediatric ward, the nurse informed me that rounds were already done and that the registrar ,(Dr Fazul) was in Accident and Emergency Room.

The nurse was very good and she quickly walked me around to every one of the nine patients. Her oral delivery of the history, lab results and management plan- all from memory, was quite impressive. I contacted with the Port Antonio Hosp SMO about the situation (ie the driver needs to leave,)- they had one peds patient scheduled for me, but the patient was a no-show and could not be reached, so I explained I would to leave and return next week. I thought it best to head back to Annatto Bay Hospital; may be I could assist with the preemie.

On the way back, I was on the phone with the Administrator at Annatto Bay Hospital; seems the plans for the baby’s transfer had changed. There was no plan to transfer, since the baby was unstable; they were unable to give any details about the baby.
I later found out the unstable baby was one of the triplets. Drs Fisher and staff were working to stabilize the patient, Dr Ramos, also came to assist. We discussed the problems of prematurity. Sometimes even with the best efforts, some babies do not do well. We are hoping that this little one will respond to treatment and fully recover.


There is a need for compatible BP cuffs to check blood pressure. Neither the Welch-Allyn cuffs and the disposable Critikon cuffs fit the BP machine at Annatto Bay.
Maybe a Dynamap machine would be good, or find a fitting that would adapt the machine for use with current BP cuffs.

Also needed, skin probes for the leads- the kind with the metal snap that are used on many ECG machines. These probes are too large for the preemies- but they work with the machine they have at present.
Also much needed- blood transfusion kits with filter and IV infusion pumps with compatible tubing.