ST JAMES, Jamaica – The Westmoreland Municipal Corporation has committed to accepting social cases from the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital, at the parish’s infirmary.

Social cases refer to patients who have been released but remain in hospital because they have nowhere else to go as their families have abandoned them. There are currently 21 social cases at the hospital.

Mayor of Savanna-la-Mar and chairman of the Corporation, Councillor Bertel Moore, said the health facility continues to be overwhelmed with an influx of social patients that are taking up well-needed hospital beds.

He was speaking at a commissioning ceremony for a new boiler system and room for the Type B facility, on Friday.

The Mayor noted that the infirmary will commence the take-in as soon as the new male ward at the facility is officially opened.

“The Municipal Corporation has completed a male ward with a capacity of 50 patients. At present we have 37, but there are still some out there who need to be in the infirmary. We do not have a figure as yet, but as soon as we open, I am quite sure the Corporation will ensure that we take some of your patients off your hands,” he said.

Councillor Moore informed that there is space at the facility to hold more than 50 patients.

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, in welcoming the move, said his Ministry will provide the necessary support to the Municipal Corporation to facilitate the transition of the social patients.

“I have asked my team to act swiftly, as my understanding is that part of that collaboration may involve a few little pieces of infrastructure that we will add to the facility, because social cases are a real problem in public health,” he noted.

Dr Tufton indicated that social cases continue to have an adverse impact on the country’s hospital bed count, and the Ministry continues to explore practical ways to remedy the situation.

“What Mayor Moore is saying is that he is working with us and his community and parish to do that. I’d like to commend that to all other towns and capital throughout Jamaica, because those 400 beds, at times that are occupied by social cases, could be placed in the service of people who have other ailments who really need hospital beds,” Dr Tufton said.

“Where there can be solutions without aggression or even legal recourse, we want to find those solutions. We are a compassionate people; we are a compassionate Government, and we are a compassionate public health system,” he continued.