Nadisha Hunter, Gleaner Writer

The head of Andrews Memorial Hospital, Dr Patric Rutherford, has charged that the Government's reluctance to slash customs duties on medical supplies is stifling the prospects of health tourism - a venture that itself could earn significant revenues in the long term while boosting the local health sector.

"It is not just equipment that we import. We have to import a host of supplies on a monthly basis, which are millions of dollars worth of goods, but they make the decision to keep the system as it is and not remove the duties," Rutherford told journalists and colleague recipients of 2010 Gleaner Honour Awards during an Editors' Forum last Thursday.

He said it was unfortunate that policymakers did not see the immediate value of sacrificing health-related import revenues from taxes to facilitate the development of the industry for the greater good.

Scrambling for professionals

At the same time, Rutherford, who oversees a privately run, Adventist-affiliated hospital, said a shortage of nurses had resulted in health-care facilities scrambling for qualified professionals.

It is a situation Joseph M. Matalon, president of Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, has described as disturbing.

"What has always interested me is that anywhere I go in the world, I come across a tremendous number of Jamaican nurses and they are recognised to be the type of premium product in the nursing field.

"Yet, we have not been able to create centres of excellence so that we can get people from overseas, which is happening in other countries," Matalon lamented.

For years, Jamaican hospitals have been struggling to suture a haemorrhaging workforce as nurses are wooed by bigger bucks overseas.

Earlier this year, Dr Evangeline Javier, director at the World Bank Human Development Department, disclosed that a study done by the department indicated that although a skilled labour force was already among Jamaica's assets, there was a shortage of workers, which is increasingly hampering the country's competitiveness.

"These shortages are being greatly felt in the health sector, weakening the quality and efficiency of health services," Javier had said, adding that the shortage of nurses would only continue with the ageing of the Caribbean population.

Migration

An in-depth analysis of the report by World Bank officials indicated that migration was a major factor for the shortage, with more than 80 per cent of Jamaican nurses surveyed considering leaving the island.

The report showed that approximately 75 per cent are dissatisfied with working conditions and also noted that a limited training capacity was another factor for the shortages.

According to Dr Geraldine Hodelin, assistant professor at the University of Technology, one of the problems hamstringing the industry was bureaucratic bungling.

"There is a cap on the number of nurses that can be trained because of the access to training facilities outside the classroom," she told the forum.

"There aren't enough opportunities to practise and do internship, and the Nursing Council (of Jamaica) will not give permission for more than a certain amount," she said.

"It's a bureaucracy that needs to be tweaked," she demanded.

UTech is the 2010 Gleaner Honour Award recipient for education.

nadisha.hunter@gleanerjm.com