Healthcare crisis

Nadia Nunes, Chief  Executive Officer of  the May Pen Hospital,  has confirmed that the hospital is only accepting emergency cases, because it has reached the limit of its patient capacity.

Similar problems are also being reported elsewhere in that region of the country's healthcare system.

RJR News reported on Tuesday that the hospital had been overrun by patients seeking care. This has depleted critical medical supplies.

Persons with less serious illnesses have had to wait days to get medical attention.     

Miss Nunes confirmed that the hospital is only accepting emergency cases, because it has reached its limit:  

"We have 190-plus patients admitted to hospital at this time, and we have a number of patients waiting in the Accident & Emergency Department for admission to the ward. It therefore means that at this time the hospital is at its maximum capacity, in terms of the number of patients that can be received at the hospital and safely treated," she explained.

She is therefore appealing to those persons "who do not require emergency treatment" to seek healthcare elsewhere, particularly at the government-run health centres.

According to Miss Nunes, the present conditions are exceptional and not the norm.

She acknowledged, however, that "where healthcare is concerned, you never can predict the numbers of persons who will get ill."

Regional Authority

Meanwhile, the Southern Regional Health Authority says it is taking steps to respond to the situation at May Pen Hospital.

Michael Stewart, Chairman of the Authority, told RJR News that efforts are being made to obtain more beds for the hospital.

Efforts are also being made to transfer some of  the less critical cases to Lionel Town Hospital, he said.

Mr Stewart confirmed that other hospitals under the management of the Southern Regional Health Authority are also facing capacity challenges, highlighting the situation at Black River and Mandeville.

"It's a very chronic situation," he said.