Large crowd delays vaccination process in Clarendon

Olivia Brown, Gleaner Writer

The vaccination of people 75 and older at the Summerfield Community Health Centre in Clarendon on Thursday faced delays due to overcrowding at the facility.

The COVID-19 vaccination process was slated for 10:00 a.m. but had to be rescheduled to 2:00 p.m. due to the large gathering.

In addition to those being vaccinated, the centre had patients with appointments for curative care, psychiatric care, and the vaccination of babies.

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, who visited the vaccination site in the central parish, questioned the parish's health team on the possibilities of exploring other facilities to accommodate the COVID-19 vaccination process.

Tufton noted that the large gathering was in breach of the Disaster Risk Management Act.

Parish manager for the Clarendon Health Services, Joseph Grant, said that non-compliance with appointment times contributed to the overcrowding. 

"Today is a regular clinic day where we are seeing the mental health and people for curative clinic, but even when we give appointments to avoid the overcrowding the crowd still comes. It's a mental state we have here in the parish and our facilities here in the country that even when they get appointments, people just break the appointment and come any hours of the day, and this is a facility that is really stretched to the max with the amount of clients we are seeing monthly," said Grant.

When quizzed about plans to relocate the vaccination process, Grant said, "There are other locations we are trying to sort out in the parish. This is the first trial being done in Chapelton and we see what is happening, so we can always adjust from here in order to fix this problem for the next round of vaccines," he said. 

Residents who gathered at the health centre argued that the crowd at the facility underscored the need for the reopening of the Chapelton Community Hospital.

WATCH: Residents face delays during vaccination in Clarendon

The services at Chapelton were relocated to the Summerfield Community Centre on April 1, 2019, to allow for repairs of the facility. 

The Southern Regional Health Authority had announced that the move was to facilitate further renovation work at Chapelton and followed the early 2018 upgrade of Summerfield.

Member of Parliament for Clarendon North Central, Robert Nesta Morgan, told The Gleaner that Chapelton is in the second phase of the project and should be ready by October of this year.

"It's not going to be just a ward, it will be a fully renovated hospital, and I know my people of [Clarendon] North Central will be happy," said Morgan.

He added that he was aware of the challenges at the facility and has partnered with stakeholders to provide an additional tent on the heath centre's ground to deter overcrowding and possible breach of the COVID-19 protocols. 

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