Dear Editor,

I have been noting the criticisms of the Government following the death of former Ardenne High School teacher and renowned Spelling Bee coach, Reverend Glen Archer. It seems that there is a view that the Government of Jamaica failed the goodly reverend as it did not pluck up millions of dollars needed to provide for his care and treatment when he needed it, considering the services that he had provided to the country during his lifetime. 

On the face of it, one could accept the criticisms as reasonable when considered against the background of the glory that his efforts brought to the island, if only for a brief moment, when he coached young Jody-Ann Maxwell to the pole position at the Scripps Howard Spelling Bee contest in the USA in 1998. Reverend Archer went on to prepare scores of other youngsters for other similar contests, even as he served at Ardenne as a teacher. It is at this point that my opinion on this matter takes a very sharp turn. 

For, let us make no mistake about it that what passes for public health care in Jamaica is nothing short of disgraceful and on an almost daily basis, Jamaicans are unable to receive even basic treatment for less severe maladies. Taking the critics at their word, it therefore comes down to whether or not those critics believe that Reverend Archer’s life is more important than that of the young child lying at hospital “X” awaiting the grim reaper because her parents cannot afford a stent to be placed in a heart valve. Or, how about the man whose leg is amputated because he could not afford the metal plates needed to save his leg and because of poor aftercare, the wound has now gone septic and is now threatening his life? Thanks to the Observer, which has trumpeted Reverend Archer’s case as it has for many others who are far less fortunate, providing a portal for others who are detatched to see the gravity of our health care situation at home.

Jamaica’s health services fail everyday Jamaicans, every single day, and taken against the background of the kind of austerity that has gripped the island in the last three decades, it is a wonder that more Jamaicans are not showing more obvious signs of ill health. In the circumstances, we hope and pray that no life-threatening epidemic will not make its way into the island. 

To my mind, what makes Glen Archer’s case different is that, based on the positions that he had held during his lifetime, he ought to have been able to pay for his health care through “paid health insurance” or at the very least, have coverage through the teacher’s union which would have spread the risk for treatment of such debilitating illness over the pool of its subscribers. The Glenn Archer episode is, at best, a wake-up call to Jamaicans to pay attention to their personal health. It is also the best advertisement for more Jamaicans to make an investment in giving themselves a fighting chance should illness come, by having some type of paid health insurance. 

It is inane to believe that any government anywhere, least of all in Jamaica – which does not have sufficient money even to stop a “stale bread cart” – to pick up these kind of costs.

I believe that with more thought and with better planning we can provide more reliable public health care by employing more “best practice” approaches. Greater emphasis must be placed on public health education, better management of public health facilities and more focus on prevention than on treatment. These may seem like small steps but believe me if we do these little things maybe, just maybe, Reverend Glen Archer’s passing could become a beacon signalling a change in our approach to personal and national healthcare.

Richard Hugh Blackford

Coral Springs

Florida 33071

USA