MONTEGO BAY, St James — Relatives have abandoned four children at Cornwall Regional Hospital’s (CRH) Paediatrics Department, yet another example of the recurring challenge of State-run facilities having to cope with social cases during the holidays.

“We do have social cases on the ward. Now we have about four social cases,” revealed acting ward manager for CRH’s Paediatrics Department Loray Graham.

She was speaking with the Jamaica Observer following a treat and donation ceremony for the department on December 18. The kids’ ward can accommodate 27 patients and social cases put a strain on its limited bed space.

“It will be challenging for us… Sometimes it is actually overflowing with paediatric patients, and because the space is not here we cannot take them as we would want to,” explained Graham.

While there has not been much said about children, there is a recurring problem of families leaving or abandoning adult relatives at hospitals across the island over the holidays.

In February 2021 Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton revealed that the Government had engaged the services of a lawyer and people who abandon their relatives at public hospitals could be prosecuted in the future.

However, after receiving advice from the Attorney General’s Chambers, Tufton told the Observer last December that the Government was rethinking that decision.