Dear Editor,

There are a number of factual errors contained in the open letter that was sent to me by Dr Winston Green (PNP Caretaker/Chairman Southeast St Mary), which letter was simultaneously sent to all parliamentarians as well as to the media. The Annotto Bay hospital is assigned two ambulances, one of which is in operation. This ambulance underwent a scheduled assessment on August 4, 2011 and was put back into operation on the same day.

Hospitals in the Region have access to all ambulances that are assigned to the Region. The Annotto Bay Hospital is no exception to this arrangement. In the event of the unavailability of an ambulance the services are procured by the Region from three private providers.

There is no issue with the Region’s ability to meet its obligation to these service providers. Since the start of the financial year, the Region has procured services from private providers in the amount of $11.3 million of which $10.5 million has been paid. Therefore there is no truth to the statement contained in Dr Green’s letter purporting that the Region is indebted to the tune of over $3 million. The Region is also not aware of any challenges that are being encountered to procure the services of these private providers.

The ambulance service in the public sector is another critical area which is being addressed at this time in an effort to improve service delivery across all four Regional Health Authorities.

Rudyard Spencer

Minister of Health

Kingston