HEALTH and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has announced a sweeping accountability crackdown across Jamaica’s public health system, and has warned that regional health authorities, boards, and public agencies will face sanctions for financial mismanagement, procurement breaches, and chronic reporting failures.

Making his contribution to the 2026/27 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Tufton outlined a new accountability framework which he said is aimed at tightening oversight across the health sector following months of public scrutiny surrounding governance issues at several State-run institutions, particularly the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

According to Tufton, the framework will target long-standing weaknesses in procurement, financial reporting, internal auditing, and governance oversight.

“We are fully mindful of the constitutional separation between policy, administration, and operation and the statutory role of boards under the PBMA [Public Bodies Management and Accountability] Act. For the next 12 to 18 months we will be moving to establish internal systems to address a number of the areas that we think are where we have shortcomings. Some are rules that are already in place, but need to be enforced, but we will also be imposing some timelines and some appropriate level of sanctions for non-compliance,” said Tufton.

Among the most immediate changes is a requirement for regional health authorities to improve financial reporting.

“All regional health authorities will be required to bring their financial statements and reports in Parliament fully up to date within the next 12 months. Boards and regional directors will be held directly accountable for delivery,” Tufton declared.

The minister also signalled tighter scrutiny of professional councils operating within the health sector.

“Councils, many of which are seriously non-compliant, will be required to submit action plans to regularise their financial reporting and to clear at least 10 per cent of their outstanding backlog within the same period,” he said.

He warned that Government would move aggressively to tighten procurement controls, particularly surrounding the use of direct contracting, which has repeatedly attracted criticism from oversight bodies.

“From Monday, June 1, 2026, and for a period of 12 months, all direct contracting above statutory threshold, except in the case of the National Health Fund, will require independent validation,” he said.

He also announced what he described as a “zero-tolerance approach” towards procurement breaches and the misuse of statutory deductions.

“Boards will be required to approve certified procurement plans; no financial commitment will be supported outside of the approved plans, and a zero-tolerance approach will be enforced for non-compliance with the Government of Jamaica e-procurement platform and immediate consequences for breaches. The misuse of income tax, education tax, and NHT [National Housing Trust] deductions to fund operations is unlawful and unacceptable. From Monday, June 1, 2026, a zero-tolerance approach will apply,” Tufton said.

The new accountability measures will also extend to staffing and performance management. Tufton said all agencies will be required to fully transition to the Government’s performance management and appraisal system within the next year, while vacancies across regional health authorities must also be addressed within set timelines.

“A coordinated recruitment initiative has asked the regions to hire where they have posts, because part of the excuse of not getting things done is that they don’t have enough people… 75 per cent of vacancies are to be filled within 12 months,” he said.

Tufton also announced increased central oversight of internal audits and governance operations within public health institutions — “From Monday, June 1, 2026 all internal audit units will submit reports directly to the ministry. This will inform my quarterly oversight meetings with board chairpersons, with persistent non-compliance attracting decisive action.”

The accountability framework comes amid intensified public attention on governance standards within the health sector following a series of audit findings and administrative controversies involving public hospitals and agencies in recent months.

Tufton said legislative changes could also follow as the Government reviews Jamaica’s wider health governance structure, including laws governing regional health authorities and the UHWI.

According to Tufton, accountability must ultimately translate into better patient care and improved public confidence in the health system.