The People’s National Party (PNP) Spokesman on Health, Dr Alfred Dawes is warning that the health system is teetering on a knife’s edge while the health minister plays a blame game instead of addressing concerning issues.
Dr Dawes, who spoke at a press conference yesterday, wore all black in solidarity with the medical staff at the Bustamante Hospital for Children, who are protesting human resources deficiencies and crumbling infrastructure.
He pointed out to the lack of maintenance of medical infrastructure, the collapsing of private partnerships under the weight of outstanding payments that the providers cannot afford to carry any longer.
He noted that requests made for CAT scans and MRIs for the patients are turned back from the entities that usually have an existing arrangement with the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW).
Dr Dawes, a former president of the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association, said he has seen patients having trouble getting implants for their orthopaedic surgery because the company refused to accept the letter of undertaking from the MOHW.
He pointed out that doctors are no longer accepting letters of undertaking to cover surgical procedures because they cannot get paid and patients are now being asked to buy sutures and other products for their surgeries because the suppliers are no longer willing to extend credit until their balances are cleared.
He noted that while the Minister of Health and Wellness has been playing the blame game with medical staff, the health system is at a tipping point.
