MORANT BAY, St Thomas — Regional Medical Officer of Health for St Thomas Dr Dianne Jackson has raised concerns that a critical shortage of nurses at Princess Margaret Hospital is now severely impacting service levels.

“The parish is presently experiencing a critical shortage of registered nurses across primary and secondary care. Concerning primary care, this has severely affected our services such as curative dressings and our community outreach initiatives, like the Know Your Numbers campaign,” Dr Jackson explained.

She was speaking during Thursday’s monthly meeting of the St Thomas Municipal Corporation. Dr Jackson said assistance has been sought from the rest of the region and other parishes, but a response is still pending.

“The hospital has provided us with one registered nurse but we have raised our tally to three and we’re hoping for a fourth nurse to make things a little more even; but we still need more nurses,” said the health official.

The hospital is also facing a shortage of ambulances needed for patient transportation to other health facilities when necessary.

Addressing that issue, Councillor Hubert Williams (People’s National Party, White Horses Division) noted that the late Councillor Rohan Bryan (PNP, Morant Bay Division), who passed away last Wednesday, had challenges accessing an ambulance while he was being treated at the hospital.

It was disclosed that Bryan urgently needed to be transported to a health facility in Kingston; however both of St Thomas’ ambulances were in use. A relative eventually used a private vehicle to transport him.

Councillor Michael McLeod (Jamaica Labour Party, Dalvey Division) who is also chairman of the Princess Margaret Hospital board, advised that Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton has promised to add an additional ambulance to the hospital’s fleet.

Despite the limitations being faced, Councillor Williams urged health professionals at the hospital to be conscientious in carrying out their duties.

“It is the only hospital we have and we need to take pride in the service we provide so that residents will feel comfortable using Princess Margaret as their hospital of choice,” he urged.