DOCTORS STRIKE HURTS KPH
Sixty-four out of 198 doctors reportedly turned up for work yesterday at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) following industrial action taken by junior doctors in protest over working hours and the non-renewal of the contracts of 147 colleagues.
Their strike had an adverse effect on operations at the hospital. John*, 25, told THE WEEKEND STAR that he had to wait for more than 10 hours to get an X-ray.
“A my yard mi wah go. Mi deh yah from yesterday (Wednesday) a wait from 3 p.m. and nothing. Mi come back today (Thursday) and a bout two hours now mi a wait and nah see nutten. Nobody is here to assist,” he stated. John suffered abdominal and leg injuries from a motorcycle accident nearly a month ago, and the wait only added to his misery.
“Mi a call to di bredda (an administrator) from morning but him a tell mi say mi just affi wait and see if a doctor come. Yesterday di place pack and mi never get through and all when it empty mi still deh yah a wait. Mi a hear dis mawnin say a more than 100 a dem nah work,” he said.
The hospital’s senior medical officer, Natalie Whylie, told THE WEEKEND STAR that the hospital was forced to cancel several appointments.
“We have had to significantly curtail our outpatients’ services. We have had to cancel all of our elective surgical procedures that were scheduled for today so that senior doctors and the remaining junior doctors can focus on the management of the in-patient and the emergency cases that continue to come to the hospital,” she said.
Late Thursday night, the health ministry reported that normal operations at health facilities islandwide will resume at 8 a.m. today. The decision was reached following a meeting of senior executives in the ministry and members of the Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association to discuss Thursday’s high rate of absenteeism among junior doctors in the public health system.