Tufton: Health sector not giving value for money
Published:Sunday | October 27, 2024 | 12:05 AMChristopher Thomas - Sunday Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says Jamaica is not receiving healthcare that reflects the significant investment the Government is making to enhance and develop the public health infrastructure.
He expressed the view while addressing Friday’s official opening of the Catherine Hall Health Centre in Montego Bay, St James, which is a part of an undertaking to revamp 11 such facilities in the parish.
“We have a problem, which is probably a good problem to have, but if we do not solve it, it will add insult to injury as far as the patient experience and the health work experience is concerned,” said Tufton. “The problem is that, for the first time, in any period of an administration, we have money to spend to support the buildout of our infrastructure, to hire more people, to provide service, to put in air conditioning, clean bathrooms, lunch rooms, and conference rooms and pharmacies to provide medication, and sometimes we do not appreciate enough that we have come a long way in having the resources to spend.
“You cannot be in a situation where you are upgrading and expanding, but it is not equating to a better quality of service. This is a message as much for the managers and the leaders in public health as it is for the stakeholders, who support the buildout [of health facilities] and the maintenance of that buildout,” continued Tufton.
He said that while the health sector does not have all it needs, “we have enough where certain things should not be allowed to happen”.
As an example, Tufton cited a recent report he got from the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland, where a brand new air conditioning unit that was installed at the facility last year is currently not working.
“When I bawl out on these issues, it is partly because I am frustrated, and partly because I think I have an obligation, and because I am feeling let down by a process that is supposed to deliver more for the people, and the delivery is not commensurate with the expenditure that is taking place,” he lamented.
The health minister’s comments came one day after he told a press conference in Kingston that there is no shortage of funds to address the challenges facing Jamaica’s public health facilities.
That declaration followed the publication of a story by The Gleaner that spinal surgery for an 11-year-old girl, who was diagnosed with scoliosis, was put off because of challenges with finding a suitable operating theatre at the Bustamante Hospital for Children.
Tufton said on Friday that hospital management must ensure that the necessary infrastructure for their respective facilities are functioning at optimal capacity in order for those institutions to run efficiently.
“We have a situation where we are less than efficient in our administration of service delivery, in this case operating theatres, because so many of them cannot function at their optimal level, either because management is failing to put the necessary arrangements in place to keep them functional and to minimise downtime, or those who management have engaged are failing to deliver on the repairs and the maintenance that is necessary,” said Tufton.
“What it means is that we run a risk of not realising the benefits of the sacrifices of the taxpayer … to fix a system without the commensurate benefits of that system providing for them,” he added.