Between horror and hope

HOSPITAL horror stories are all too familiar for Jamaicans, and though the age-old issues of long wait times, lack of resources, and poor service appear unyielding and have only led to more frustration when accessing the country’s public health-care system, there appears to be at least a glimmer of hope. While Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton continues to highlight increased government spending in the public health sector, Opposition spokesman on health Dr Alfred Dawes has argued that there are major disparities in access and quality between the wealthy and the poor. Last week, this Jamaica Observer reporter visited public health facilities in Kingston, St Andrew, and St Catherine — namely University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), Spanish Town Hospital, and Linstead Public Hospital — to find out from patients whether public health care reliably serves them, who are the ones depending on it.

“I would like to see a total revamp of what is going on here, and the health-care system,” said Norman James, a patient at KPH who was sitting under a tent with people awaiting blood tests last Tuesday. James said he got out of bed at 5:30 am to ensure he was on time for his 9:00 am appointment. When the Sunday Observer arrived at the hospital at approximately 11:30 am, he had already been seen by a doctor and was waiting to leave the compound.

But James said his experiences at KPH were often markedly different. The 70-year-old recalled one admission to the hospital, which saw him waiting days before being properly accommodated on a ward. “I’ve come to this hospital a couple times to be admitted, and let me tell you, that’s a whole other story.

I came in here the Friday night, and Saturday passed and it was Sunday before I could get a bed,” he said. His concerns also extended beyond waiting times. Pointing to the wheelchair in which he was sitting, James said its wheels lacked rubber, leaving only the metal rim to support him.

They don’t have enough beds, they don’t have enough chairs, fans, and their wheelchairs don’t have rubber on them. Across from him, a woman who asked not to be named, said she had been waiting since 7:00 am for medical attention and that her doctor had still not arrived. Pedestrian and vehicular traffic at the entrance to Spanish Town …