KINGSTON, Jamaica – Opposition Spokesperson on Health and Wellness, Dr Alfred Dawes, is calling on the prime minister and minister of finance to exercise greater oversight of taxpayer spending within the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW).

The appeal follows the South East Regional Health Authority’s (SERHA) decision to halt outsourcing critical diagnostic services to private facilities due to exhausted funding for the programme.

In a memo, SERHA announced that hospitals and clinics must now rely on public health facilities to provide these services.

However, Dawes points out that this decision is impractical given the inadequate capacity of public health facilities to handle these demands.

“There is no way patients will be able to access critical diagnostic services such as CT scans or MRIs, as much of the equipment in public facilities is nonfunctional after years of neglect,” he said.

Dawes criticised the MOHW’s longstanding reliance on outsourcing, describing it as a “quick fix” that has drained billions of dollars from the public health system without meaningful improvements.

He emphasised that these funds could have been used to procure and maintain diagnostic equipment within the public sector, ensuring sustainability.

The Opposition spokesperson highlighted that SERHA’s move is indicative of a broader issue—crippling debts accrued under poorly managed public private partnerships (PPPs). Other regional health authorities are facing similar challenges, such as struggling to pay private providers for diagnostics, dialysis, surgical services, and medical supplies.

Many suppliers grappling with cash flow issues have stopped accepting letters of undertaking from the MOHW under PPP arrangements.

“The collapse of these PPPs starkly contrasts with the Government’s claims of significant increases in the health budget,” said Dawes.

He pointed to what he called “numerous financial mismanagement issues, including the misallocation of $400 million in COVID-19 relief funds, a $20 billion budget overrun on Cornwall Regional Hospital renovations, and a broader lack of accountability for the health budget exceeding $700 billion.”

“This is unacceptable for the countless Jamaicans who depend on the public health system and for medical professionals striving to diagnose and treat their patients,” Dawes said.

“The prime minister must act now to prevent the collapse of the entire public health system,” he stressed.