Nurses Association supports health-impact study at CRH

The Nurses' Association of Jamaica (NAJ) has welcomed the decision by Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton to commission a study that will look at the health profile of the staff of Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James.

"I have instructed the ministry to assemble a team, which includes external experts, to commission a study that will look at the health profile of the staff of the hospital, not just since this issue has occurred, but from the past, since it has been an issue that has been around for a while," Tufton disclosed to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

His announcement came against calls for a commission of enquiry into the handling of the Cornwall Regional Hospital crisis. He announced that the impact of poor air quality on the well-being of workers would be assessed. He said that the study would look at symptoms, complaints, and existing data at the staff clinic in an effort to design a tracking system to monitor the effects over the long term.

Speaking to The Gleaner yesterday, Carmen Johnson, the NAJ president, pointed out that her group had been calling for a comprehensive examination since mid-2017.

"What we want is for it to start now, not in the next four months or six months, while they remain ill," asserted Johnson.

Health workers at the Cornwall Regional Hospital have complained about respiratory illnesses, rashes, weakness in joints, and memory loss.