Mayor sheds tears for overcrowded Sav Hospital

WESTERN BUREAU:

A TEARY-eyed Bertel Moore, mayor of Savanna-la-Mar, has decried the overcrowding condition at the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital accident and emergency ward.

He noted that the problem of inadequate bed space at the medical facility must be addressed to prevent children and adults from sharing the cramped space on the ward as they seek medical care.

According to Moore, on a recent visit to the hospital, he broke down in tears when he saw the unsuitable condition where patients, doctors, and other medical staff are forced to operate.

“What I saw at the emergency room, honestly, tears came to my eyes after going into that room,” Moore told councillors at Thursday’s monthly general meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation.

“I could see little boys, little girls ... l see big men and women all in a cluster inside there,” he continued.

Increase in social patients

The reason given for the hospital’s bed-space problem is an increase in social patients and a surge in dengue and respiratory cases that have pushed the town’s medical facility beyond its operational capacity.

Earlier this month, Camille Lewin, chief executive officer at the hospital, said social cases over the last three months had increased further.

“Our numbers have been rising. In July and August, we were at 22, the count for social cases, and this month, we are at 32,” Lewin told The Gleaner recently.

But Moore, who is also the outgoing councillor for the Negril Division, said there is an urgent need for corrective measures. He shared that the unacceptable state of affairs is robbing people of their dignity.

Moore shared that on the same afternoon of his visit to the hospital, he received a call from a friend in Boston, USA, who informed him of a disturbing incident where a patient was exposed.

“After I left the hospital, I got a call from someone in Boston. The person’s sister was on the emergency ward. While they were tidying her, she was left exposed to the public. There was not even a screen to put around the lady while they were tidying her,” the mayor shared.

“This cannot continue. We need to do something at the hospital now. It just cannot work like that,” the mayor insisted.

He also called on Dr Marcia Graham, medical officer of health for the parish, to inform Dr Christopher Tufton, minister of health and wellness, to immediately do something to solve the problem.

“When you look in that emergency section, I counted close to 90 patients in there, and if I saw two nurses, I would have seen many,” Moore revealed.

“How can we operate like that? It definitely cannot continue at the hospital in this manner,” he insisted.