DR. WARREN BLAKE

If one needs to see a picture of a ´ man for all seasons ´´ the face of Dr, Warren Blake would loom ´´big and large´´ as one would say here in Jamaica.

A Pioneer in the field of Orthopedics, an eager and energetic political aspirant, passionate and unrepentant in his commitment to the country of his birth, Dr. Warren Blake has made a mark on the fabric of this nation´ s development.

Currently on a post retirement contract, at the Bustamante Children's Hospital he continues to contribute in his field of expertise publicly as well as in his thriving private practice.

As an young graduate in 1976, he interned at the Kingston Public Hospital before moving onto the public Hospital in Mandeville, now known as the Mandeville Regional Hospital before returning to KPH where he did a stint in neurosurgery. In his own words 'it didn ´t work out too well. Fortunately, he showed an aptitude for orthopedics and benefited from the tutelage of Messrs. MacNeil Smith and Dundas and opted to forge a new path when he decided to move to England to specialize in Orthopedics.

In his pursuit of further training and certification in England, Dr. Blake, worked at several institutions with one particular hospital affording him the opportunity to obtain hand surgery experience which saw him returning to Jamaica in 1986 as a Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon at the Kingston Public Hospital. In 1997, he took the bold move of establishing his private practice while simultaneously pursuing another long held ambition...that of entering representational politics.

In 2011, Dr. Blake was invited to join the staff of the Bustamante Children´ s Hospital....where he continues to give yeoman service.

When asked to speak to his achievements, reflecting on his professional tenure, Dr. Blake noted that on his return to Jamaica, orthopedics was in its infancy and so the time and environment was conducive for trails to be blazed. So, seizing the opportunity to practice his new found skills, he participated in a number of firsts in Jamaica, specifically referring to the first micro surgery done locally where he successfully reattached a hand which was completely detached from the body as well as his participation in the first series of microscopic surgeries in Jamaica.

He continued his pioneering deeds by blazing a trail in joint replacement surgery while finding the the time and expending the energy with other colleagues to recognize the need to and establish the Jamaica Orthopedics Association as well as the Sports Medicine Association.

But what of the future?

Ever the consummate professional, and ever forward thinking, Dr. Blake hopes that the area of hand surgery will get special attention because currently at the Children´ s Hospital they are seeing quite a number of limb deformities presenting and as the ´´closest thing to a hand surgeon in Jamaica´´ when he leaves there is need for others to be trained and ready to fill the void. So it is his greatest wish that some of the young orthopedic surgeons will train and become involved in reconstructive surgery for congenital deformities.

And what would he like to leave to the younger practitioners in his field? Well in his estimation, the most important thing for them to remember is the ethics for practicing medicine....¨¨do your best, do it without fear or favour and conduct yourself with integrity´´ He stated that he was not worried about the technical expertise of those standing in he wings to replace the pioneers, because in his opinion they have been well trained and most of the young graduates go abroad and get some exposure to first world medicine and return to practice their newly obtained expertise. In that area Jamaica is doing very well Dr Blake noted but was characteristically passionate they remember always ´the ethics of medicine´´

In 2022, Dr. Blake was honoured for his services to medicine and was awarded an Order of Distinction, Commander Class A ,CD.