Expert concerned about overseas staffing for WCAH
Jamaicans should be trained to fill positions at Western Children and Adolescents Hospital, expert says
Published:Friday | June 28, 2024 | 12:06 AMAdrian Frater/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE GOVERNMENT’S decision to look overseas to fill some of the staffing positions that will become available when the new Western Children and Adolescents Hospital (WCAH) open its door within the next 12 months, has caused one local health expert to question why greater emphasis was not paid to training locals.
According to the expert who has considerable experience in the medical field both locally and overseas, the Government should have been training locals from the moment the hospital was conceptualised.
“We have doctors from First World countries coming to the University Hospital of the West Indies to be trained in various areas of specialisation, so if we can train them, why can’t we train our people in sufficient numbers, so we don’t have to look outside of Jamaica to satisfy our needs?” the medical professional, who asked not to be identified, said.
“For well over 30 years, Jamaica has been training doctors in paediatrics and other areas of specialisation, so we do have a lot of specialists here,” the expert told The Gleaner. “In the cases where they are not up to speed in the latest technology our specialist could be sent overseas to get the required training.”
“All the Government needs to do is to spend some money and send our specialists abroad on a one-year fellowship to learn the latest technology and we should be alright,” he said.
The new 220-bed hospital, which is sited on the grounds of Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St James, is slated to commence operation within a year.
Staffing plans for the hospital are now being looked at, and it is because of that exercise that the need to look overseas to fill some staffing positions was identified. The hospital, which will cater to patients from birth to age 17, is the first hospital of its type in the Caribbean.
“It is true that there are real challenges in staffing and there is a lot that is being done by the Government to address the staffing shortage,” said Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton.
“We intend, where necessary, to recruit from other countries because it is unlikely that we will be able to satisfy the demands that are required with Jamaicans alone, given the migration of healthcare workers and the limitations with training,” he said.
However, while the Government is prepared to look overseas to address the staffing challenges, Tufton has made it clear that in instances where competent Jamaicans are available they will get first preference.
“While we recognise that we may need to attract labour from overseas, our first priority is to give an opportunity to our locals to populate the institution and that sensitisation has commenced,” said Tufton, in reference to positions already filled.
According to him, a comprehensive staffing plan has been drafted and has been submitted to the Ministry of Health and Wellness and is now being looked at. The estimate is for 1,208 staff members, which includes 125 medical officers and 731 nurses.