FALMOUTH, Trelawny – In the wake of the recent crash on a section of the Northern Coastal Highway in Trelawny, which left three people dead and over 20 hotel workers injured, at least two senior Cabinet ministers have stressed the urgent need for the upgrade of the type C Falmouth Public General Hospital, which will allow it to adequately deal with major catastrophes.

Last Thursday, a Toyota Coaster bus transporting hotel workers and a Toyota Hiace bus with a couple on board collided at a section of highway in Braco, leaving 62-year-old driver Newvin Johnson of Liberty Valley; Tomie McCook and his wife Annette Brown McCook, both 49; all of Brown’s Town, St Ann addresses, dead.

Their deaths brought to 21 the number of people killed from 17 crashes in the parish since the start of the year. Most of the fatal crashes reportedly occurred on the Trelawny leg of the Northern Coastal Highway.

During the corresponding period last year, 12 people were killed in road crashes in the parish.

A day after last Thursday’s fatal crash, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett travelled to the Falmouth hospital where he visited the injured hotel workers who were admitted for treatment.

Bartlett told reporters after the visit that with the Falmouth hospital located in close proximity to sections of the highway, there is the need to strengthen the trauma centre at the facility.

The strengthening of the trauma centre could entail the expanding of the accident and emergency area, more equipment, more mobility, including ambulances and more personnel, according to Bartlett.

“You must have a strong trauma centre here and this is a very vital part of the tourism safety and security strategies that we have to pursue. We are working hard on what we call building destination assurance, but we are saying here that the destination must be equipped with the infrastructure to respond to any health disruption in particular, and accidents like this [last Thursday’s] is a disruption. So the minister of health and myself are going to have a conversation in relation to what further support can be given to Falmouth hospital in particular, because you are the support to Cornwall Regional [Hospital] so building the capacity to respond quickly to trauma in particular, is a very important part I think of your infrastructure need,” Bartlett stated.

“This hospital [Falmouth] is now, in my mind, at the centre of the immediate health security infrastructure that the tourism sector, especially on this side of Trelawny, is going to have to rely on.”

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton was in full agreement with his colleague minister.

“I agree. I agree 100 per cent and maybe TEF [Tourism Enhancement Fund] may have to play a role there. Largely because a number of these accidents along that stretch which has its own issue, the roadway, are linked to the tourism industry,” Dr Tufton told the Jamaica Observer West during a telephone interview on Tuesday.

“Similarly, God forbid, the pier, which is right next door to the hospital in the town of Falmouth, which hosts thousands of people with every cruise ship arriving. God forbid, if anything should happen, Falmouth will be the first port of call for medical attention. And we are totally inadequate to deal with that level of catastrophe, should it occur. And so I do believe that we should look at how we build out the infrastructure, in this instance, around the tourism product, along that stretch, in recognition of the holistic approach, and to have sort of an emergency response on standby.

“Falmouth hospital should really benefit from an overhaul and I think that overhaul should recognise the local people, but also the tourism industry.”

There have long been calls for the Falmouth Public General Hospital to be upgraded.

In fact, while on a visit to the facility just over a year ago, Tufton stressed the need for the upgrade of the State-run facility.

“It’s worth looking at how we increase the specialist services and upgrade the facility. And it’s timely because of the development that is taking place in the parish. So it’s something that we are going to need to look into and see what else can be done to upgrade the facility and provide some additional care,” the health and wellness minister said then.

Type C hospitals like Falmouth provide primary and basic secondary care services, while type B facilities offer primary and secondary health-care services. Meanwhile, type A hospitals provide comprehensive secondary and tertiary health care services and are referral centres for other hospitals, both in the public and private health systems.

And stating that “we do recognise that this is an accident corridor”, senior medical officer at the Falmouth Public General Hospital Dr Leighton Perrins told the Observer West that members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) should have regular patrols on the corridor to penalise incalcitrant motorists.

“We combat this [crash] issue on a regular basis. Unfortunately, there were 27 people involved in this one [last Thursday’s crash] but we have several trauma, mass casualties, but not with these numbers. I think that we as a nation need to do something about curbing or controlling as best as possible. I think we need something like a highway patrol for these people who are doing these infractions. They are not being seen,” the senior medic said.

“We at the hospital can’t do anything about it [bad driving]. We can only take care of the people who come here. We are the health section that takes care of the injuries, the sick and injured but there is a section that enforces rules and regulations so that is something that needs to work on because it is not going to stop until that [is worked on].”

Speaking at a JCF press conference Tuesday, Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson promised that patrols on the Northern Coastal Highway will be strengthened.

“We have had those discussions with PSTEB [Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch] and also around putting out additional highway patrol officers along that corridor. There are some additional assets that are supposed to be coming to the area for St James and Trelawny to deal with this, specifically along that corridor. But there are other places that we are also focused on,” the police commissioner said.

Meanwhile, Bartlett argued that “the issue of careless driving and the way in which we use the roads in Jamaica is a matter of great concern”.

“…In fact, I am beginning to see that this road fatality issue is now a national crisis. It is no longer a situation which is occurring as the traditional accident. It is almost becoming now a par for the course,” the tourism minister lamented.

“So I believe we are at the point now where that national response is now necessary beyond any concerns for normal accidents. If you should check to see what happens on this Northern Coastal Highway in the last year, I think that the death toll on this strip perhaps will outstrip any other cause of death, and I say that with the note that I could be corrected. But the feeling that I have and how things have gone, and also the number of fatalities per accident, these are real concerns.”