JAMAICA’S health authorities have rated the public health sector’s response to Hurricane Melissa eight out of 10, lauding the efforts of medical practitioners as nothing short of heroic while noting room for improvement in legislation that governs response strategies.

“In the preparation and immediate response I would give us an eight. It’s not for me to judge but I think there’s always room for improvement,” Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton said at a Jamaica Observer Press Club meeting on December 15.

“Having gone through this period of experience and COVID-19 I’m prepared to go into any crisis with the health team that we have in our country today, despite the challenges, because I believe they understand what a crisis is. I think we have systems of preparation and response, not so much by the perfection of the infrastructure — because that’s clearly not the case — but by the drive of the people. I know that they have the attitude and the aptitude to respond,” he said.

Dr Tufton told editors and reporters that the sacrifices he witnessed among health-care professionals were awe-inspiring, noting that many sustained massive losses from the hurricane that bulldozed the western end of the island on October 28, yet remained steadfast in their roles, responding to the tragedy.

“There were doctors and nurses who heard that their entire roof was gone and they were at the hospital for days before going to check on their homes. To me, those are acts of absolute heroic response, and that’s why I say they have really put their work first and the passion for what they do, which is to save lives,” said Tufton.

Permanent secretary at the ministry Errol Greene was also moved by the selflessness of those who worked to save the lives of others during the Category 5 storm, sharing that many believed they would not live through the catastrophic event.

“While the hurricane was going on you had doctors who called on me at the hospital who were stenciling their names and their telephone numbers on to their bodies, and they went through that just to ensure that the patients were okay,” said Greene.

He added that another instance which showed the strength of the public health sector was the immediate response from medical professionals islandwide who volunteered their services to those overwhelmed in the west.

“Every single hospital in Jamaica rushed to the aid of our colleagues. It was the University Hospital [of the West Indies’] Dr Carlton, he took a team and, from my understanding, they’re still there, helping out wherever they can. Kingston Public Hospital, Spanish Town Hospital, in fact, we asked for volunteers the Sunday after the hurricane and the response was overwhelming — we couldn’t accommodate everybody to volunteer. It was so heart-warming to see the response from our colleagues in other parishes and in other areas,” Greene said.

Furthermore, Dr Tufton cited the health sector’s preparedness to respond to disaster, and the seamless cooperation with international aid donors, as areas in which they acted swiftly and performed well.

However, he told the Observer that though health-care workers were outstanding, there exist issues with the Public Health Act that may have hampered the response effort to Hurricane Melissa.

“I think there’s also a role for the Public Health Act in terms of some of the responses and some other pieces of legislation, some of which are outdated because they’ve been around for a long time. So, there’s a policy assessment that I think requires revision,” he said.

Tufton also shared that he has hopes of seeing Jamaica with an active task force ready to respond to international tragedies, noting that he deems it necessary after receiving what he called an overwhelming amount of global support.

“The helping of others is another big case, I think, that [demonstrates] we have to build a team, given the experience that we have had. I do envision a day when that field hospital will be deployed somewhere in the Caribbean… to help some of our brothers and sisters, some of those small islands that have been wiped out. I do envision that the Jamaica Defence Force and our medical personnel on a plane can carry that field hospital to help.”

GREENE…commended medical professionals islandwide who volunteered their services to those overwhelmed in the west .