- File
A patient in one of the island's hospitals.
Garwin Davis, Assistant News Editor
SEVERAL OF the island's major hospitals are running at full occupancy, a situation some administrators are blaming on "persons who callously use the hospitals as a dumping ground for their sick and elderly relatives," so that they can enjoy the Christmas celebrations.
They also note that the problem is so grave that it has been hampering their ability to accommodate patients, some of whom normally should be admitted. The hospitals said to be mostly affected include St. Ann's Bay, Spanish Town, University Hospital of the West Indies and the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH).
"It's definitely a problem here at St. Ann's Bay," explained Lynden Buchanan, chief administrator at the institution. "We have been noticing a trend where at this time of the year, a lot of elderly patients are brought here to be admitted. What's interesting is that the relatives of these patients cannot be found or seen again until after the Christmas season, thus putting pressure on the facility and our ability to make beds available for other patients. I am told that this is not a problem unique to St. Ann's Bay as other hospitals have been going through the same thing."
Checks by The Sunday Gleaner with a number of other hospitals reveal a similar pattern. "Don't put me on record in saying this, but yes it would seem that every December there is an increase in elderly patients being admitted here," remarked a source at the University Hospital, who requested not to be named. "We have been finding it difficult to accommodate patients in terms of admittance space as it is right now, very tight. It is sad when people some seriously ill cannot be admitted because we don't have any bed space."
SITUATION WORRISOME
At the Spanish Town Hospital, while administrators would not attach a particular reason for the hospital's high number of in-house patients, they note that the situation was worrisome.
"There is hardly, if any, bed space here. We have to be asking other hospitals to take some of the patients who have been pouring in," one senior official told The Sunday Gleaner on Thursday. "It's been a while since I have seen the situation this bad."
One patient, Noel Green, spoke of his ordeal at the St. Ann's Bay Hospital.
"I was told bluntly that while there was clear evidence that I should be admitted they didn't have any beds available," he charged. "I was feeling so sick that while waiting to be seen by a doctor, I had to spread a towel on the floor where I could lie down. It was that bad."
He said he was later given a drip and sent home. Told about this, Mr. Buchanan said while he could not speak about that particular incident, "a patient in an emergency situation will have to be accommodated."
Other hospitals, while not admitting to having a crisis on their hands, are also reporting a high number of admissions. Enid Duncan, Nursing Sister at the Port Antonio Hospital in Portland, said yesterday that while there has been a reduction in admissions of persons suffering from complications including diabetes and hypertension, the numbers for respiratory illnesses such as asthma have increased.
"Yesterday there was 63 patients at the hospital 12 less than the total capacity," she said. "We have to monitor the situation on a daily basis."
Carolette Callum, nursing supervisor at the Port Maria Hospital in St. Mary is also reporting an increase in respiratory illnesses. Additionally, she said many of the children admitted to the facility were suffering from gastro-enteritis and diarrhoea.
Yvonne Pitter, parish manager of the Manchester Health Department, who is temporarily supervising operations at the Mandeville Hospital, notes that "We try to discharge as many of the patients as is possible at this time of the year."
For Mr. Buchanan, however, persons need to be more sensitive to the needs of others and should not be putting the hospitals in what he called a dangerous predicament.
"People just need to be a lot more caring. Use the nursing home facilities if you have to," he said. "When people are left at the hospitals deliberately, it makes it very difficult to accommodate those who may well be in need of serious care persons who are in need of admittance."
