ST ANN, Jamaica- Member of Parliament for St Ann North West, Krystal Lee is criticising People’s National Party (PNP) spokesman, Alfred Dawes, for what she says is his ‘hypocritical failure’ to acknowledge major steps being taken by the Government in its effort to reform the healthcare system.

In a statement on Thursday, Lee also chided Dawes for recent remarks not acknowledging what she says is the neglect the system suffered under the former PNP administration.

“Dr Dawes held a media conference on Wednesday and pretended as if he was unaware of major reforms taking place in the sector including the fact that 1,000 additional doctors will be given permanent posts, 1,500 new places for nurses in permanent positions have been finalised, there have been expansion in availability of hospital beds, operating theatres have been upgraded”, Lee commented.

Dawes on Wednesday called for an overhaul of what he claims is a broken public health system on the verge of a crisis.

“Jamaicans are getting sicker and sicker. We have more diabetics, more hypertensives, more people with chronic diseases, an ageing population and all of these increase the burden on our public health facilities,” he said. “If we’re not seeing significant improvements to keep up with the rate of increases in these chronic diseases on the ageing population, we’re going to reach a crisis level. And unfortunately, if we continue along the route that we’re taking, that crisis level will be fairly soon.”

READ: PNP says public health system on verge of a crisis

However, according to the Government MP, it must be noted that under the JLP-administration, the National Health Fund (NHF) facilitates three million prescriptions per year, up from one million four years ago. She also highlighted that more categories of illnesses are also being covered by the fund.

Lee says it’s unfortunate that Dr Dawes failed to note major expansion work at several health facilities across the country including the Spanish Town Hospital, the Noel Holmes Hospital and the new state-of-the-art facility being built in western Jamaica to attend to the healthcare needs of Jamaicans. She further noted that the Christopher Tufton-led health ministry has been open and transparent about issues facing the sector.

She expressed that while there is much work to be done, it must be noted that the JLP-led administration has made progress in addressing several issues including shortages especially as it relates to equipment, gears and human resources.

The St Ann North West Member of Parliament has also described as less than forthright Dawes’ criticism of the Programme for the Reduction of Child and Maternal Mortality (PROMAC) programme. She expressed that statements made by Dawes suggested that the programme has failed to deliver while even the European Union has lauded the initiative.

“It was only in 2020 that the European Union lauded Jamaica for its achievements under PROMAC. The Head of the EU delegation commended the health ministry for its management of PROMAC and stated that she is pleased to say the outputs from the programme are significant,” she said. “This is a matter of public record and another indicator of Dr Dawes’ willingness to mislead in what appears to be his desperate bid for political traction,” she concluded.