Tufton backs $31-m surgical purchase

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has hailed the new neurosurgical drill acquired for the Bustamante Hospital for Children as a significant advancement in medical technology, enhancing the hospital's ability to perform complex brain and spinal surgeries on young patients.

During a recent tour of the hospital, Tufton outlined the functionality of the device.

"We have acquired a piece of equipment ... that can be used to perform in four or five different surgical processes," he explained.

"Instead of having multiple sets of different things or, indeed, different drills, this one piece of machine with various attachments can be used for a number of things," he added.

The drill, purchased at a cost of $31 million, has sparked criticism from the Opposition People's National Party (PNP). The party's spokesman on health, Dr Alfred Dawes, has questioned the price tag and is calling on the ministry to release the full procurement documents.

Dawes claims he has found similar drills listed online for "about $10 million or less". He said that if the documents reveal the $31 million price tag to be genuine, he would be the first to say he was wrong.

"I will take off my political hat, I take off my political shirt, I will dress up in sackcloth and ashes and go in the middle of Half-Way Tree square and apologise," Dawes declared.

"But if you cannot do it, because you know it does not cost anywhere near $31 million, then keep hiding it."

Meanwhile, consultant neurosurgeon at the Bustamante Hospital, Dr Charmaine Muthra, emphasised the clinical benefits of the new high-speed electric device.

"In 2025, we were still using the equipment that Harvey Cushing, the father of neurosurgery used," she pointed out.

Muthra said the new device "allows us to carry out more procedures locally", noting that previously many patients had to be sent overseas or wait for international medical missions.