Jesse James Clarke, junior shadow spokesperson on health and wellness, has raised concerns about the scarcity of crucial diagnostic equipment in major hospitals and the Government’s decision to outsource these tests to private facilities.

He noted that while he welcomes the existence of public-private partnerships, such arrangements are suitable for the medical field as they are time-consuming.

Clarke referred to the recent incident involving 14-year-old Jaheim Coleman, a student at BB Coke High School who suffered severe injuries from an assault by a fellow student.

“Jaheim had to endure a 24-hour wait to undergo a brain scan because neither the public hospital nor the nearby private facility possessed a functioning machine. Every moment counts when it comes to saving the life of a trauma patient, and a substantial amount of time was squandered in the quest for an available machine. Furthermore, this young man was subjected to the inherent risks of further injury during the approximately two-hour ambulance journey required to access medical care in Kingston,” he said in a statement today.

Coleman was transferred from the Mandeville Regional Hospital to the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) due to the unavailability of the essential equipment required for an urgent brain scan.

The Opposition spokesperson said while he applauds the health ministry’s intervention, the situation of Coleman’s treatment could have been swifter if the hospital had the necessary equipment.

He said that the Opposition firmly believes that public-private partnerships should not supplant services that public hospitals can provide adequately.

“Many will suffer silently if the Ministry of Health and Wellness continues to deprive our hospitals of essential equipment while expecting the population to accept public-private partnerships that may endanger lives. Access to free healthcare must translate into quality healthcare for the most vulnerable members of our society, and this can only be realised through adequate government funding,” Clarke argued.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness recently procured three X-ray machines for the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) valued at more than J$400 million. The machines were procured under a contract between the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) and Arel Limited.

Bustamante Hospital for Children, Spanish Town Hospital, and National Chest Hospital will also receive new machines to be installed by November 2023.