Dawes, Tufton spar over state of health sector
Published:Tuesday | October 29, 2024 | 12:11 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has labelled claims made by his opposition counterpart, Dr Alfred Dawes, regarding the state of the health sector as “outlandish and extreme” and devised to create an atmosphere of pessimism.
“I must say that I am disappointed,” Tufton told The Gleaner last night. “To my mind, (the claims) undermine the credibility of not just the statement because it is so extreme in the negative sense, but also the credibility of all the other claims that have been made.”
During a press conference yesterday, Dawes decried the state of Jamaica’s health system, which he said is marred by infrastructure challenges and human resource deficiencies. He asserted that the health sector was at a “tipping point”.
“Unfortunately, my fellow Jamaicans, the health sector is not getting better. What you are experiencing today is the beginning of it getting worse,” he said.
According to Dawes, some hospital equipment suppliers are selling substandard instruments at hiked-up prices to the Ministry of Health and Wellness. He said this is one of the main causes of the infrastructure deficiencies being experienced in the sector.
He also highlighted a “significant conflict of interest” in the procurement process for hospital equipment, resulting in companies that are connected to stakeholders and decision makers being awarded contracts.
“What has happened over the years is that the cheapest quality Chinese equipment has been bought, sold to the Ministry of Health at exorbitant mark-ups, over 1,000 per cent. When I hear some of the prices for these machines, I know that they cost a 10th of what they are being resold for,” he said.
While stating that he was not against capitalism, he described this form as “rapacious” and “sucking out money out of the health ministry” while patients suffer.
Even more concerning, Dawes said, was that equipment sourced from these suppliers generally do not have a maintenance contract.
In cases where there are reputable companies providing equipment, he contended, the lack of maintenance contracts impacts the life of the equipment.
Dawes stated that the ministry’s Health Facilities Maintenance Unit is a “shadow of its former self”, with not enough trained biomedical engineers and a lack of necessary resources.
This, he said, results in the ministry spending more money to outsource these personnel at “exorbitant market rates”.
Dawes also blasted Tufton for criticisms he levelled at the administration at the Bustamante Hospital for Children last Thursday, after The Gleaner reported that a spinal surgery for an 11 year-old girl diagnosed with scoliosis was postponed because the air conditioning, among other things, in the operating theatre was not up to standard.
Tufton, during a press conference in response to The Gleaner report, said arrangements were being made to have the surgery performed at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). He also asserted that there was no money issue involved in addressing the challenges facing Jamaica’s public health facilities, but instead that there are “systemic defects” that are behind the ills affecting some operations at hospitals.
SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT
In the meantime, Tufton pointed to investments that have been made in the health sector, including a significant increase in its budget, creating more posts for doctors and nurses, and administrators. He noted, too, that the capital expenditure for equipment and buildings has been the “highest in recorded history”, at almost US$300 million.
“Any assertion that somehow we are at a tipping point … is patently outlandish and false, and is not credible,” he said.
He also challenged Dawes to produce evidence to support claims that some suppliers are providing substandard equipment to the health facilities.
He stated that the equipment is generally purchased by the regional health authorities, the UHWI and the ministry.
“I know, based on our recent policy arrangement, that equipment are purchased based on an assessment of what is reputable, and also there is a policy framework that is now advanced to require extended service for those equipment to make them work,” the minister said.
“More often than not, when those equipment do not work … it’s because of limited servicing or a lack of servicing, and also where parts have to be ordered and sometimes takes an extended period of time,” he said.
The lack of functional equipment in hospitals has been a consistent area of concern, with both hospital management and patients expressing their irritation.
In August 2023, Tufton announced the implementation of a Medical Equipment Maintenance Management Policy. The policy is intended to be a guideline document for all public health facilities, for the effective maintenance of medical equipment used for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of patients.
Among other things, the policy requires every contract to contain a set of replacement parts that suppliers must have in stock, and be provided in the agreed time frame. Further, the contracts would now have a formal schedule of maintenance.
Tufton said the policy is currently being implemented but Dawes is not optimistic that it will be effective.
“There is no preventative maintenance schedule. There is no increase in the maintenance budget for the different health facilities. All that is happening is that maintenance is trying to fix what is broken. So it is literally chasing your tails,” he said.