KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Ministry of Health and Wellness is working to shorten the time patients have to wait in order to do certain surgeries in hospitals.

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton said $1 billion has been allocated for an immediate and extraordinary intervention to respond to this as well as for diagnostic tests, and bed space shortages.

“We have patients waiting over a year for general surgeries, such as hernia. For other procedures, such as hysterectomies or myomectomies, we have patients waiting for over 10 months. For surgeries, including radical prostatectomy, we have patients waiting for over six months,” Tufton said.

The minister was making his contribution to the 2019/2020 Sectoral Debate at Gordon House this afternoon.

“People die waiting. Frankly speaking, long waiting times also make a farce of free health care and the concept of universal access to health care. We have to intervene and fix it!

Simply put, Jamaicans who are diagnosed in the public health system for approved diagnostic tests will be given the tests free of charge even if they have to get the tests done by an approved private provider,” he said.

In the case of surgeries, Tufton said the ministry will look at the priority placement of each surgery and determine a maximum wait time. Similarly, where possible, we will outsource those procedures to achieve minimal waiting.