In using the St Ann’s Bay Hospital in St Ann as an example of rising admission of patients with various medical challenges, Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, has declared that it is impossible for hospitals to respond to an unlimited number of admission needs.
Given that reality, Tufton is urging residents of the parish to take greater care of their health, stay safe on the nation’s roads, and help reduce the number of admissions at the island’s hospitals, especially at the St Ann’s Bay facility.
“The truth is we cannot manage to respond as a hospital – in this case St Ann’s Bay Hospital in the parish of St Ann, which is the only facility (there) to provide certain services.
“We cannot respond to unlimited numbers of these accident cases. It’s just not possible and practical, and we can’t build a hospital facility if we have a society that is unruly and decides to do what they want, and then expects the hospital to respond,” indicated Tufton.
He made the statement during a tour of the St Ann’s Bay Hospital on Friday.
Recently, the North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA) has urged persons to regulate their health conditions, avoid domestic conflicts, and stay safe on the roadways, in order to limit overcrowding at the St Ann’s Bay Hospital.
NERHA reported that there was an alarming level of admissions at the regional hospital’s accident and emergency department. These included increases in trauma cases.
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Meanwhile, Tufton said a programme designed to clear the backlog of surgery cases at the island’s hospitals, including St Ann’s Bay Hospital, is in the early phases, and is to be intensified shortly.
“… I have been informed that, and I am happy… that the surgery backlog cases that we have spoken about in my sectoral debate (presentation), (that) there is a programme that’s active and engaged in, to try and clear up the backlog.
“… And that is good and we are hoping to amplify that as we go along over the next couple of months under the COVID CARE programme, where we hope to recruit additional staff to give support for more surgeries to take place,” stated Tufton.
