THE HIGH level of endemic violence in the society has spilled over into the school system and is having a significant negative impact on the health care system.
In just under one year in one small rural hospital, nearly 100 trauma cases, 15 of them life-threatening, arising from violence in schools, have been treated. Major portions of the Ministry of Health budget go to trauma care resulting from violence and much of this expenditure is not recoverable from patient fees. Indications are that violence-related injuries are costing the public health care system some $700 million per annum in direct costs and up to $2 billion in indirect costs.
In response to the growing number of cases seen from school violence, the medical team of the Percy Junor Hospital in Manchester has launched an area programme for the prevention of violence in schools. It is ironic that Manchester has one of the lowest incidences of violent crime in the island and yet is faced with such serious numbers of school violence injuries. Violent urban centres would be recording far higher numbers.
The programme for the reduction of violence in the schools in the area served by the Percy Junor Hospital is a collaborative effort also involving the Southern Regional Health Authority, the police and the schools themselves. According to Dr. Ghazzali Ahmad who conceived the project, it came about because of the high number of trauma cases he had seen since his arrival at the hospital last April, including life-threatening stab wounds with knives and scissors. The project will work with victims and offenders and other students, providing the psychological and social counselling necessary to help reduce violence among students.
Appropriately, the programme was launched on Tuesday, March 7, Peace Day for the Peace and Love in Society (PALS) programme. PALS has been working with schools for years towards the same objective of the peaceful settlement of disputes and the reduction of violence among children.
The multi-agency approach to the reduction of violence in schools in North Manchester is a good one. Violence is a complex problem involving much more than law enforcement for solution, although we believe more stringent law enforcement among juveniles is a crucial part of the solution.
So far the health care system has been more or less a passive recipient of the results of violence in both the school system and the wider society. The involvement of health care personnel with violence reduction programmes is a move in the right direction.
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