KINGSTON, Jamaica – People’s National Party (PNP) Spokesperson on Health and Wellness, Dr Alfred Dawes, is calling on the prime minister and minister of finance to increase oversight of taxpayer spending within the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW).

In a press release, Dawes said the appeal follows the South East Regional Health Authority’s (SERHA) decision to halt outsourcing 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, which Dawes says is impractical.

“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.

The Opposition spokesperson claims that SERHA’s move is indicative of a broader issue—crippling debts accrued under poorly managed public-private partnerships (PPPs). He says 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, he said.

Dawes criticised what he said was the ministry’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 puts forward that these funds could have been used to procure and maintain diagnostic equipment within the public sector, ensuring sustainability.

Dawes pointed to what he described as “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.”