SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has promised to examine the possibility of providing additional support to the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital, which is currently buckling under pressure from the impact of the novel coronavirus.

“One of the things that we need to look at is to see if we can get some additional staff from across the border and if we can even move people over temporarily. It is something that we need to examine and see how possible that is because, at this rate, this small complement is going to buckle under the stress,” he said. Tufton was speaking to staff during a visit to the hospital on Thursday, to mourn with them after Monday’s death of Accident and Emergency Department supervisor, 37-year-old Diagrea Davis Cunningham.

He also spoke of the possibility of utilising recent medical school graduates at the facility.

“We may still have to take them and put them into some of the areas where we can eventually develop them, and they can move into some of the challenging areas, so that we can take some of the pressure off you guys,” said the health minister.

Nurses across the country have spoken out about the physical and mental toll of keeping patients alive during a pandemic. During his visit to Westmoreland and Hanover, the health minister also spoke of the need to find ways to show appreciation for the work being done by those on the front lines.

“The war that we are in, some people fall on the front line and they do it in service to others over time. It is a really tough situation,” he said.

Efforts were made by groups Thursday to make staff at the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital a bit more comfortable on the job. Among them are members of the Rotary Club of Savanna-la-Mar and the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce and Industry which have begun providing coffee, tea, sandwiches and fruit plates for hospital staff.

To complement those initiatives, efforts are also under way to address the shortage of bed space. Minister Tufton said work is expected to begin on a much-anticipated 36-bed field hospital which will address overcapacity at the Savanna-la-Mar hospital. There will have to be an outlay of $11 million to construct the base that will house the material donated for the facility.

To date, field hospitals have been established at Falmouth Hospital, Trelawny; St Joseph’s Hospital, Kingston; and Spanish Town Hospital, St Catherine. Efforts are also under way to build others in Mandeville, Manchester, and May Pen, Clarendon.

— Anthony Lewis