WRHA says no to preferential treatment
Published:Thursday | September 2, 2021 | 12:10 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
St Andrade Sinclair has re-emphasised that front-line workers in the west will not be singled out for special treatment at public-heath facilities, noting that the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) does not differentiate between gender, class, or sector when caring for patients.
His comments come on the heels of the passing of Diagrea Cunningham, a senior registered nurse at the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital in Westmoreland, after a protracted wait for a ventilator.
Cunningham died last weekend at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay from complications associated with COVID-19 at a time when unconfirmed reports stated that the facility did not have enough oxygen to satisfy the needs of all patients.
There have been mounting calls for a special arrangement for front-line workers who contract the deadly coronavirus on the job and fall seriously ill.
CARE FOR ALL
But Sinclair made it clear that the authority’s mandate is to operate with an even hand, and all patients in the public healthcare sector should receive the same level of care regardless of their status.
“As far as what is happening now, anybody who comes into a healthcare facility, you reach out to them with open arms,” he said.
“You don’t know the difference between a healthcare provider, a regular human being, civilian, police, or military person,” Sinclair told The Gleaner. “You don’t know the difference when you are on the operating table. All you are seeing is an incision, tissue, and the blood is the same colour, so everybody gets the same care.”
Sinclair’s stance falls in line with that of the Government’s after the suggestion of priority care was first shot down by Prime Minister Andrew Holness and the position subsequently supported by Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton and Chief Medical Officer Dr Jacquiline Bisasor McKenzie.
“In these matters, once it comes to care, then only the standard medical triage would apply. There wouldn’t be any predetermined priority list. That would be problematic,” Holness said two weeks ago.
Three weeks ago, Annette White-Best, who worked at the Percy Junor Hospital in Manchester, became the first nurse to die after contracting the coronavirus. Retired nurse Linnette Johnson also passed away from COVID-related complications two Thursdays ago, hours after her husband died from the disease.