KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesman on Health and Wellness, Dr Alfred Dawes has labelled the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, as out of touch with the realities facing healthcare workers and users of public health facilities.

Dr Dawes described the Sectoral Debate by the minister on Tuesday as following in the same vein of announcements from the Government about mega projects being “equal to success while the common man is not feeling the impact of these developments”.

According to Dr Dawes, for the first time in the history of post-independent Jamaica, there is the fiscal space to properly finance the health sector but this significant increase in funding has been accompanied by the deterioration of the health sector overall.

“Over the last few years, more mothers are dying during childbirth compared to the last three decades. More neonates, infants, and children under the age of five are dying compared with twenty-five years ago when the health budget was less than a third of the current budget even with adjustment for inflation,” he said.

He noted that while global trends are showing fewer women dying from childbirth, uterine cancer, and breast cancer, Jamaica has seen increases in the death rates of these predominantly preventable or treatable conditions.

“The lack of investment in proper screening programmes has seen jumps in death rates for prostate, colon, breast, and other cancers, while countries that have prioritised screening programmes have seen death rates for these cancers falling,” Dr Dawes said in a media statement on Wednesday. He added that deaths from chronic diseases such as strokes, renal failure, heart attacks, and diabetes are also on the rise mirroring global trends, “but the morbidity and mortality rates for these so-called ‘Western lifestyle diseases’ are far worse in developing countries”.

“Why weren’t mammograms, FIT (fecal immunochemical test) tests, colonoscopies, and PSA (prostate-specific antigen) tests made a priority? We know that late-stage cancers are claiming the lives of our people. How frequently can patients at the newly refurbished health centres access timely consultations with doctors to manage their blood sugar and blood pressure and prevent significant organ damage in the future?” Dr Dawes questioned.

“Tragically, many patients experiencing heart attacks and strokes are left to perish due to the insufficient availability of ICU (intensive care unit) beds. Despite promises to increase ICU capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a massive infusion of funding for the sector and the donation of dozens of ventilators from international partners, our ICU capacity remains unchanged from pre-COVID levels. The question remains: where have all the donated ventilators and the funds allocated for ICU expansion gone?” he continued.

The Opposition spokesperson said in addition to the health indicators showing a decline in the overall health of Jamaicans, the experience at public hospitals and health centres is depressing and frustrating for far too many patients and undersupplied, overworked employees.

“You can’t fault a marketer for marketing, but when patients and healthcare workers are forced to jump over raw sewage to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for refurbished hospital bathrooms, it’s evident that the issue lies not in funding, but in the government’s misplaced priorities,” he shared.

Dr Dawes said Minister Tufton’s Sectoral Debate has solidified in the hearts and minds of Jamaicans that the Jamaica Labour Party administration is using relentless spin doctoring to convince the people that their lives are improving.

He said, however, the harsh reality is that Jamaicans are getting sicker and pregnant women and babies are facing higher mortality rates compared to twenty-five years ago.

“Despite massive expenditures over the last few years, there has been no tangible improvement in the quality of care because of a lack of focus on what truly matters in preventing and mitigating the impacts of chronic diseases,” Dr Dawes said.

“In their disregard for critical health indicators, it is evident that the minister and his advisors are out of touch and are sacrificing the lives, health, and well-being of thousands of Jamaicans if they continue to ignore the vital health metrics that truly matter while marketing to Jamaicans to ‘know their numbers,” he added.