Tweet

 

 

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, March 1, 2018 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, said his Team Unity Government is encouraged whenever nationals living abroad use their knowledge and expertise to uplift the twin island Federation.

 

Speaking at a town hall meeting at the Joshua Obadiah Williams Primary School in Molineux on Tuesday, February 27, Prime Minister Harris personally commended the efforts of Dr. Andy Redmond, a son of the soil who hails from Ottley’s Village, in giving back to the country in a big way.

 

Dr. Redmond was instrumental in launching the first MRI service on the island of St. Kitts in 2016. These services are now available to citizens, residents and visitors alike at St. Kitts Biomedical MRI, a facility at Bourryeau Estate.

 

Dr. Redmond earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University where he studied the effects of stress on the brain.  He then studied at Yale School of Medicine, where he completed his neurosurgical training.

 

Addressing the audience at Tuesday’s town hall meeting, Prime Minister Harris stated, “We love to hear that a young man who has made a claim abroad look back to the country…and he decided to invest in an MRI.”

 

Dr. Harris went further and lambasted the former Dr. Denzil Douglas-led Government, particularly then Minister of Health the Hon. Marcella Liburd, for its failure to secure the MRI investment that was being offered by Dr. Redmond. 

 

He added, “Year after year, he [Dr. Redmond  ] had been talking to Douglas, talking to Marcella – in fact he offered to put the MRI at JNF Hospital and when they were too busy doing whatever they were doing…he offered as an alternative to put the MRI service at Mary Charles [Hospital].”

 

Prime Minister Harris stressed that as a result of Dr. Redmond’s intervention many ordinary residents and citizens were spared costly travel expense of seeking MRI services in neighbouring islands such as Antigua and Trinidad and Tobago. 

 

The statistics for 2017 revealed that more than 450 patients were catered to in 92 designated operational clinical days at St. Kitts Biomedical MRI, averaging around five patients per day, with a maximum daily schedule capacity of six patients.

 

Of those cases, brain, lumbar (lower back) and cervical spine scans made up 71 percent of all clinical cases in 2017. Throughout 2017, St. Kitts Biomedical MRI also offered clinical services for thoracic spine (upper back), hip, knee and MRA (magnetic resonance angiogram) head scans.

 

For St. Kitts and Nevis nationals, the price of an MRI at the facility ranges between ECD$920.00 and ECD$2,230.00 (USD$340.00 and USD$825.00) based on the type of scan.  For non-nationals, the price ranges from USD$440.00 to USD$925.00.