NO EVIDENCE

Amid multiple reports of tragic incidents and a call for an audit of the life-saving machines, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is adamant that there is no evidence that ventilators are missing from the island’s public healthcare facilities.

Tufton said Thursday that Jamaica benefited from a number of ventilators at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, bringing the total in the public sector to approximately 100. He said some of the machines were purchased by the Government, donated by the private sector, and others came out of the Programme for the Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality.

He said the ventilators were distributed throughout the public-health system and were significant contributors to saving thousands of lives during the pandemic. He said they are still being used.

“I’m not sure what the concern is around discrepancies,” Tufton told The Gleaner, noting that there is confusion around a ventilator being present in hospital and the use of the machine that requires the support of intensive care unit beds and specially trained staff.

“I think we’re confusing the issue, and one has to be very clear. There’s no evidence that ventilators have gone missing. The issue is how it is managed and the other supporting systems to ensure optimal use in the case of peak demand on the system,” said Tufton.

His statement follows a call from opposition spokesperson on health and wellness Dr Alfred Dawes for a report on 105 ventilators, which he said were provided through the efforts of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, the European Union, and concerned private individuals during the pandemic to address the critical lack of care facilities on the island.

Dawes said prior to the pandemic, there were only approximately 35 ICU (intensive care unit) beds to serve the population, equating to a ratio of 1.2 beds per 100,000 citizens – a number significantly below the necessary capacity.

“Even if we aimed to reach just 10 per cent of the US healthcare system’s standard of 29 ICU beds per 100,000 citizens, we would still require 85 ICU beds. Both the private sector and our international partners recognised this deficiency and contributed enough to acquire 105 ventilators according to the Government. So, where are those ventilators?” Dawes questioned.

The medical doctor said while he does not intend to politicise recent tragedies affecting public health system users, the Government must be reminded that mismanagement in the health sector is paid for in human lives.

“Refurbishing and painting clinics and hospitals will not improve healthcare if the system is broken. This is merely putting lipstick on a pig,” Dawes said. “We must fix the system because failing to do so will result in repeated tragedies.”

NO SPECIALIST PRESENT

His warning followed a Gleaner report on Thursday about a mother who witnessed the death of her premature newborn at the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon because of the absence of a ventilator.

Senior medical officer for the hospital, Dr Bradley Edwards, confirmed that there was no available ventilator at the facility but said that administrators were working to acquire one.

Tufton said reports to him suggest that there is a ventilator at the facility but that it is used primarily for adults.

He said specialised training is required for it to be administered to a baby, especially one who is premature.

He said there was no specialist in the area at the time one was needed, which resulted in the manual ventilation of the baby.

He said a referral to the Bustamante Hospital for Children could not be facilitated because there was no ICU space there.

He added further that there was a chronic shortage of critical care nurses to support the use of ventilators and ICU beds, pointing to the government scholarship and bonding offer to nursing students.

“ … Having said that, losing a loved one is always regrettable, and we certainly express our condolences to the family members,” said Tufton.

He said for the fiscal year ending March 2024, some 2,016 babies were delivered at May Pen Hospital, with 516 being via C-section. There were 16 neonatal deaths. The neonatal mortality rate was 8.0 per 1,000 live births.

Dawes called for a holistic review of the healthcare system rather than focusing solely on mega projects.

He said training healthcare workers and expanding their numbers are essential to ensuring the proper staffing of new and renovated facilities.

“As it stands today, the Western Children’s Hospital will suffer the same fate as Chapelton Hospital, a beautiful building devoid of patients due to insufficient staff to run the facility,” he said.

“We must recruit, develop, and retain staff to run our ICUs, emergency services, hospitals, and clinics while providing them with the necessary tools to deliver the services Jamaicans desperately need.

“I wish I didn’t have to comment on the stories circulating on social media, but it must be said that these unfortunate yet expected consequences stem from the reluctance to take the hard road of reforming the entire public health system,” he noted.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com