ST THOMAS, Jamaica — Member of Parliament for St Thomas Eastern, Rose Shaw, says patients at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Morant Bay are being placed in life-threatening situations due to a severe and ongoing shortage of ambulance services.

In a statement on Thursday, Shaw said the shortfall is leaving vulnerable residents unable to access critical medical transport.

Noting that 20 days have passed since she raised the matter at the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament, with no meaningful resolution from the Minister of Health, Shaw said: “Patients are experiencing great difficulty accessing ambulance services to transport them for tests and other medical emergencies.”

“The citizens of St Thomas need and deserve better. If this situation is not rectified, we are going to face a crisis where deaths that could have been avoided will occur,” she added.

Shaw is calling on Minister of Health, Christopher Tufton, to treat the matter as an emergency and restore fully operational ambulance services at the hospital without further delay.

“Ambulances do not move on good intentions. There are no acceptable excuses and no room for further delay. The Ministry of Health must act, and they must act now,” Shaw said.