“We have not woken up this morning and decided that we are
going to put these interventions in place. It is quite deliberate that we are
so far advanced despite being so early in the fiscal year”
Permanent Secretary in
the Ministry of Health, Harvey commenting during the Press Conference held at
the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Wednesday, September 2nd 2015.
The long-awaited audit of the Health sector that was ordered by
the Minister of Health Dr. Fenton Ferguson since May 2015 as reported in the
article “Major
Hospitals And Health Centres Audit Results Next Week”, Published Thursday
August 27, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner.
Folks, this may not be to your liking, so at this point you can
stop reading and go back to whatever you were doing before.
This as, not surprisingly, it reveals major problems with the
infrastructure as well as resource supply problems as reported in the article “Health
Facilities Audit Reveals Several Problems”, published Wednesday September
2, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner.
Alas, my dear reader, I couldn't wrangle an actual copy of the
audit that was revealed by the Minister of Health Dr. Fenton Ferguson at a
Press Conference held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston on Wednesday,
September 2nd 2015.
Still, if a copy happens fall in my lap from one of my
confidential sources, I'll be sure to upload it to my blog for a complete
reading by all.
Instead, like everyone I only have a summary document which
revealed the nine (9) major findings of the Audit:
1. Inadequate
systems and infrastructure for Infection Prevention and Control, in particular
for the MOINA areas (Maternity, Operating Theatre, Neonatal Units, Intensive
Care and Accident & Emergency)
2. Inadequate
hand hygiene practice, promotion and infrastructure throughout
3. Inadequate
and consistent supply of pharmaceuticals and sundries
4. Inadequate
supplies of linen, including drapes, gowns etc
5. Inadequate
numbers and functional medical equipment (various types)
6. Inadequacy
in stock management (pharmaceuticals, sundries etc)
7. Inadequate
and inconsistent documentation of critical needs list
8. Inadequate
supplies of PPEs such as plastic aprons used to prevent contact with waste or
body fluids
9. Major
defects in infrastructure
Good to note the original Jamaica Gleaner report lists eight
(8) major findings, but I counted nine (9), actually.
Ok, so now the Health audit is out, putting to paper what the
Doctors have been saying all for quite some time now as noted by President of
the Medical Association of Jamaica ( MAJ),
Dr. Shane Alexis in the article “MAJ
Demands Specifics, Solutions Following Damning Health Sector Audit”,
Published Wednesday September 2, 2015, The
Jamaica Gleaner, what’s next?.
Audit of Public
Health Care System revealed - How the Minister of Health plans to correct these
problems
So what does the Minister of Health plan to do to correct these
problems, including the shortage of pharmaceuticals, also a long-standing problem
as pointed out in my blog article entitled
“JMDA
laments bad conditions in Public Hospitals - How MOH Audit will reveal Doctors
and Pharmacists stealing Supplies for Private Practice”?
According to the Jamaica Observer, he's already made the move
to do so as noted in the article “Sick
health system”, published Thursday, September 03, 2015 by Alphea Sauders, The Jamaica Observer.
The Minister of Health Dr. Fenton Ferguson pointed out that
they'd been aware of these problems for quite some time. However, a complete
audit now gave them a clearer picture of what the problem were exactly and
where they were located, quote: “The piecemeal approach of the past has not
served us well. We have acknowledged that the health system is in need of some
reform to meet the changing health care needs of the population”.
To his credit they'd started addressing some of the concerns:
1. JA$1.5
billion infrastructure upgrade over the past three years
2. 18%
increase in the health budged to over JA$50 billion
3. JA$3.8
billion contract signed to ease the shortage of pharmaceutical and medical
sundries
4. JA$6
billion on pharmaceuticals and sundries for the Financial year overall
5. JA$2
billion on reagents for the Financial year overall
6. 250
pharmacists and pharmacy technicians employed in an effort to improve service
delivery
7. JA$14-million
spare parts for critical biomedical equipment e.g. X-ray, CT scan and MRI
machines
8. 18
new ambulances are being bought into the island
Those ambulances are thanks to contracts signed with Toyota
Jamaica, PROMAC (Programme for the reduction of maternal and child mortality)
and the National Health Fund.
Also the procurement of the pharmaceutical and medical
sundries, signed mere weeks before Wednesday September 2nd 2015, was
a part of a larger order for the 2015-2016 Financial year, quote: “This is an
initial procurement as we expect to spend close to $6 billion on
pharmaceuticals and sundries, and $2 billion on reagents in this financial year
alone. In addition, since April 2015 we have provided the regional health
authorities with an additional $130 million per month from $50 million
previously”.
Additionally, he's started to track changes, something that's
novel for the Ministry of Health known for making promises but not actually
doing anything, to quote MOH, D. Fenton Ferguson: “We have started to implement
a pharmacy management information system which will help us to track items,
their availability, expiration and order levels”.
They've also wrangled a medical microbiologist as a part of an
ongoing assessment to visit the various health facilities to make sure they are
up to the necessary standard required for a Hospital. Whether that'll mean also
be firing doctors for malpractices complaints, being as that's a standard,
remain to be seen.
I cannot say I've heard this all before, as this is the first
islandwide audit I can recall in recent memory as well as from research. So
this may actually mark a new beginning.
We'll just have to wait and see if changes have been made.
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