Video depicting patients on hospital floor taken out of context, says Tufton
Tamoy Ashman / Our Today
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, says the recent video showing patients lying on the floor at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, was taken out of context.
He shared that the area shown is a holding facility for social cases for patients who were discharged from the hospital but have nowhere to go because their family members have abandoned them and not an area for persons waiting to be treated.
“That holding area does have facilities for persons to sit, maybe a reclining chair or otherwise, and the truth is some persons exercise the option not so to do, and that is unfortunate. So while we do not excuse away the need for monitoring and closer monitoring, which I’ve asked to be done at the management level, it is a function of some of the challenges around demand and the challenges around social cases in our institutions,” said Tufton.
He noted that there are more than 100 social cases at hospitals in the region, with up to 10 per cent of hospital beds in western regional hospitals occupied by persons who have been abandoned. This he says has led to overcrowding of hospitals, with Cornwall Regional being over 100 per cent occupied.
Tufton shared that the issue has persisted for years, and the ministry has urged families to collect their loved ones to ease the burden on hospitals. Additionally, he said that social cases are often sent to infirmaries to open up more bed spaces, but the issue persists.
“It’s a struggle. I’m not saying it’s not something we need to improve on, we are doing that by building out, but it is a struggle, and I think that context is important as we draw conclusions. The Government has demonstrated a lot of compassion, I believe, over time, but I continue to appeal to relatives that you must collect your loved ones when they are discharged,” said the Minister.
He further warned the Opposition Spokesperson person on Health, Dr Morais Guy, about generalising a single issue that was taken out of context.
In a release earlier this week, Guy called on the Health Minister to address the “unhealthy and dehumanising conditions at many of the island’s hospitals, especially the Cornwall Regional Hospital” where patients were lying on the hospital floor.
The shadow minister also called on Tufton to monitor the hospital bed issue and ensure that citizens are treated with dignity.
“The reality though is that our public health infrastructure responds, has been responsive, but the reality is that we’re suffering from a chronic neglect over decades which will take time,” said Tufton in response.
He added that his administration over the last seven years has done the most to improve hospital infrastructure and will continue its efforts to improve health facilities islandwide.
The completion date for the J$14.1 billion Cornwall Regional Hospital’s rehabilitation is now March 2025. The facility is to begin a phased reopening by the middle of next year.
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