Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton on Tuesday described as inaccurate and unfortunate the Opposition’s allegations of corruption in the procurement of medical equipment, saying that the claims are a desperate attempt to gain political advantage.

He also lampooned Opposition spokesman on health Dr Alfred Dawes’ charge that overpriced machinery were being bought from China in what amounts to a rapacious form of capitalism, describing the accusation as “rather sad”.

Tufton, in his contribution to the state of constituency debate in the House of Representatives, noted that while his presentation was really an update on developments in the health sector, he had to address Dr Dawes’ accusations made at a news conference on Monday.

Dawes, a medical doctor, had delivered a broadside against the Government for its handling of the health sector, saying that there is high-level corruption in the procurement process that is “leading to the collapse of the health sector”.

According to Dr Dawes, there is “significant conflict of interest” in the procurement process, “resulting in companies that are connected to the stakeholders and decision-makers in the procuring entities being awarded contracts”.

“It is a broken procurement process why an electronic health records system could go to tender for $370 million… and when concluded the contract is $800 million and we are told that it is above board.

“It is why a $1.5-million operating bed lasts only three months when that same operating bed, if you were to buy it in China, the cost in Jamaican dollars would be $150,000. We are seeing this rapacious form of capitalism sucking out $140 million out of the Ministry of Health and there is no value for the taxpayers’ dollars,” Dr Dawes charged.

However, on Tuesday Tufton defended the procurement process, outlining the steps taken from start to finish and said the ministry does not vary from the required procedures.

“So it’s advertised, people bid based on what is required, and when that takes place it goes to a committee that is independent of the ministry ultimately, and a decision is made, and in so doing the equipment is secured,” he said.

“I’m not sure how one could leap from there to suggest that somehow substandard equipment have been [bought], and in that same breath the giant leap from a public procurement process involving equipment to a term ‘rapacious capitalism’ is rather sad,” Tufton said.

He said that, while it was not his job to be critical of individuals and their ambitions, what was interesting about the “rapacious capitalism” allegation was that it came from the “very same person who… left the public health system as an SMO (senior medical officer) to establish his own hospital in order to pursue the market forces… for his own livelihood”.

He said he had no problem with individuals pursuing private business because, unlike the Opposition, “who seem to have a problem with it, we over here believe in the market as an efficient determination of how resources are allocated”.

In an obvious reference to the Opposition People’s National Party’s declared ideology of socialism, Tufton said, the Jamaican people “should be aware [that] as much as the private sector and capitalism… have faults, socialism and [a] planned economy [are] far more imperfect and create far more challenges, and we’re not going back there; I don’t think the people of Jamaica want that.”

He said he didn’t know if the suggestion coming from the Opposition was for the Government to hand-pick and select who provides services, but, “That is not going to happen, and indeed it’s against the rules, unless in emergency cases.”

Tufton also said that “some of the charges and counter-charges that were made against public health and the servants of public health and the Cabinet and Government of Jamaica are quite unfortunate, not to mention the fact that they are inaccurate”.

“The reality is that our health-care system has not been given the level of resources and attention over many, many decades. And, in fact, the very member who leads in these conversations on that side, himself in 2015 when he was president of the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association, stated, and it was carried extensively in the media, that he, as a surgeon, had to wear garbage bags as personal protective gear in order to conduct surgery within the health system,” the health and wellness minister said.

“I can say that no surgeon today needs to wear a garbage bag in order to get personal protective equipment to conduct a surgery in the public health system, and even if there is a periodic shortage, it’s probably around logistics, not because it is not available,” he argued.

“We have inherited a lot of the issues, but we are making progress. In fact, the largest investment in health care since 1962 has taken place over the last eight years under this Andrew Holness Administration. $35 billion in active projects being implemented, that’s not a crisis, that is looking forward and not looking backward; that is making progress, and I’d be happy to share some of the specifics around that in the context of what has transpired over the last number of months,” he said then gave updates on a number of projects in the public health sector including Cornwall Regional Hospital.

“In Phase 1, the water infiltration that affected the building and caused the growth of mould, based on lack of maintenance for probably two decades before that, this Government decided to address in no uncertain terms.

“In Phase 2, we had to address the structural integrity of the building, removing components of the building and repairing the supporting structure that has been compromised by water.

“In 2024, we launched the final phase, Phase 3 of the project, that is to realise the full rehabilitation of the building. This is being done in sections. The first section of the building to be rehabilitated is the administrative block, with staff being able to be accommodated by this Christmas. In other words, we will begin to move back into that building before the end of this year in a phased way. And that’s an achievement. That’s an accomplishment after a lot of work,” Tufton told the House.

He also said that, by April 2025, the medical records department, the general stores, the dietary department, and the server rooms will be fully rehabilitated and operational.

“These areas are critical to the proper functioning of the hospital and are being prioritised to ensure that when the full operations are restarted they can provide the appropriate support to patients and staff in the facility. So this is a critical starting point,” he said.

“I have also been advised by the contractors that the next section of the building to be rehabilitated is the accident and emergency (A&E) unit, that we hope to be fully equipped with new CT and MRI machines as a brand new amenity to support the work of the staff. So we’re expecting that by the end of the first quarter of next financial year… the new A&E will be commissioned at Cornwall Regional Hospital and it will be an absolutely brand new facility, including new equipment,” he said.