KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesman on Health and Wellness, Dr Alfred Dawes is calling on the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) to confirm or deny reports that in spite of 210 registered ventilators in the system, there are less than 40 adult intensive care unit (ICU) beds available islandwide.

Noting that the ministry has avoided answering direct questions about the island’s ICU capacity, Dr Dawes questioned, “before the pandemic, there were less than 35 proper ICU spaces, not counting makeshift recovery room spaces. According to reports, there are around 35 proper ICU spaces in the public health system. Why has the MOHW not included this information in their report?”

According to Dawes, the failure to significantly upgrade the country’s ICU capacity is a further testament to the lack of prioritisation of critical care by the ministry.

He said that with the massive injection of cash into the system seen during the pandemic, there is no valid reason the country should have less than 40 ICU beds for a population of just under three million residents and four million tourists visiting annually.

The opposition spokesperson said the lack of ICU beds delays critical surgeries such as neurosurgical procedures and complex cancer surgeries. He further claimed that countless trauma, stroke, septic and post-surgery patients have died awaiting ICU beds that never materialised.

“At any given time, there are several patients awaiting an ICU bed to give them a fighting chance at survival. As a result of the limited capacity, the staff have to make the heart-rending decision of who gets to live. No patient, relative, friend or healthcare worker deserves this status quo,” Dr Dawes said in a release.

“Boasting about the largest numbers of ventilators ever means nothing if the infrastructure, staffing and required equipment are not put in place to create sufficient critical care facilities islandwide,” he continued.

Dr Dawes said the health ministry needs to state clearly the country’s ICU capacity and outline the steps being taken to increase that capacity to meet the demands of the population.

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

Dr Dawes argued that despite an increased budget, the health system has failed to reduce infant and maternal deaths and to adequately address the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, which he said are some measurable consequences “for the failure to implement and maintain an adequate health-care system”.

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

His comments follow the death of a premature newborn baby at the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon earlier this month reportedly due to no ventilator access.

However, Portfolio Minister Dr Christopher Tufton later dismissed Dawe’s charge about a broken public health system as an “attempt to create mischief”.

In a virtual press conference, Tufton told the media that the public health system has 118 working ventilators. He further noted an audit conducted to trace all ventilators in the system which revealed that the ministry owns 210 of the machines, 40 of which are going through maintenance, and the others which are “obsolete; they can’t be used”.

READ: Public health system has 118 working ventilators, says Tufton