Opposition calls on Health Minister to remedy issues at public hospitals
KINGSTON, Jamaica— Opposition Spokesperson on Health and Wellness, Dr Morais Guy, is calling on Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, to ensure that all operating theatres in public hospitals across the island are adequately maintained to deliver quality patient services.
Dr Guy’s urging is based on “disturbing information” that he said he received about one of the operating theatres at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) that had to pause operations three days ago due to a leak from the ceiling.
He added that the hospital also ran out of medical oxygen within the last three days, causing postponed surgeries and KPH having to resort to alternative actions.
In a statement on Monday, Dr Guy said he was “deeply concerned about the lack of oxygen because it revealed that the administration is no longer concerned about oxygen supplies as Jamaica is out of the heightened COVID-19 pandemic.”
“We are no longer in a COVID-19 emergency. As such, the Minister must ensure that our hospitals have the necessary oxygen supply on time to maintain the quality of health care delivery in these facilities,” Dr Guy stated.
The opposition spokesperson said that with a lack of oxygen and poor maintenance or inoperable structures and equipment, this hinders the public hospitals to provide the quality care and service in critical circumstances and to vulnerable citizens.
Dr Guy also pointed to another incident ,which he said he brought to Health Minister’s attention three weeks ago, that took place at the Annotto Bay Hospital where malfunctioning air conditioning caused water leaks in operating theatres.
“This situation resulted in the postponement of surgeries at that facility (Annotto Bay Hospital) and remains unresolved. This latest incident at the KPH only adds to the impression of an uncaring government steeped in public relations to give the impression that all is well in the sector,” Dr Guy argued.
As a result, the Opposition Spokesperson said the Minister of Health seems to have lost focus on his primary responsibility to ensure proper cost-effective health services for all citizens.
“This is evident from the recent posturing that the government intends to pursue the CODE CARE PROGRAMME model, which promotes the transfer of surgeries to private facilities. This policy option is potentially devastating to the poor, disabled and other vulnerable groups due to the huge costs for these groups were they to try to access the care privately,” he emphasised.
“Right now, we are witnessing a pattern of neglect of the publicly funded hospitals in favour of private arrangements, which cannot be how health services are delivered to our citizens,” Dr Guy remarked.
He added that it was against this background that he is calling on the Health Minister to ensure that the country’s health facilities are functioning at optimum levels, particularly those with operating theatre issues such as the KPH and Annotto Bay Hospital.
He reiterated that the issues at KPH have to be remedied as it is the largest trauma hospital in the public health system and the hospital of choice for most citizens.