Concern over Incident at Bustamante Hospital for Children

Health issues seem to be seizing the headlines, in one way or the other, at the moment. Our health sector is under pressure, and a violent incident involving a local politician, who had brought her sick baby to the Bustamante Hospital for Children for treatment, highlights those stresses. The politician concerned has since (partially) apologized.

The complex and difficult relations between health care workers and patients have frequently been aired and seem almost intractable at this point. These concerns were widely discussed at a recent meeting of the Civil Society Collaborative Forum, part of an EU-funded project (the Promotion of Patients’ Rights in Maternal, Neonatal and Infant Health). I wrote about this: “Later in the meeting, many of the seemingly intractable concerns that plague the health sector surfaced: staff shortages and migration, long waiting times, lack of “compassionate care” (despite all the training of health care workers)…”

The Bustamante Hospital for Children in Kingston is the only children’s hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean. (Photo: SERHA)

SERHA Concerned over Incident at Bustamante Hospital for Children

 The South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) note the public’s concern over the recent incident between a member of staff and the mother of a patient. While we understand the anxiety of patients, who visit our health facilities, particularly, the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC), the management of SERHA strongly opposes any form of abuse of the public health staff.

SERHA remains committed to providing invaluable medical care to all who seek treatment and care at its institutions. The BHC team continues to work assiduously to address the issues of increased patient load and resultant waiting time presently facing the hospital.

The triage system at BHC is in place to ensure that medical cases are properly categorized and prioritized such that the appropriate resources are allocated to treat with the level of urgency. The public is also reminded that the Accident & Emergency Department is geared towards treating emergency and urgent cases.

SERHA and the Ministry of Health & Wellness remain equally dedicated in maintaining a robust security process for the safety and security of patients and staff while serving the public at the highest standard of medical care. Existing infrastructure will be used to support on-going investigations and further enhance the security elements where required to prevent recurrence.