Motorcycle accidents taking heavy toll on Hanover’s health, fire services

Western Bureau:

Personnel at the Hanover division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), and the Noel Homes Hospital in Lucea, are deeply concerned about the growing number of serious motorcycle accidents in the parish, which is taking a toll on resources that are critical to their emergency response and patient care.

Kirk Atkinson, the district officer at the JFB Hanover Division, who was speaking at last week’s monthly meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation, said firefighting personnel are usually the first responders at the scenes of accidents, which in many cases leave victims seriously injured and requiring emergency care.

To compound the challenge faced by firefighters, Atkinson told the meeting that the ambulance attached to the JFB Hanover Division has been out of action since August 23, undergoing repairs in Kingston.

“Motor vehicle accidents are still one of our sore points in the parish,” said Atkinson. “I do not know what is happening in Hanover. I do not know if it is a road issue or a driving issue, or what, why there are so many accidents occurring.”

While not providing any actual figures as to the number of accidents and the number of persons killed or injured in the accidents the firefighters have responded to, Atkinson told The Gleaner, after his presentation, that he was fully aware of four accidents that resulted in mass casualties in recent times.

“We had some accidents back in the summer, I do not have the numbers with me right now, but because of those accidents there were a number of casualties,” he said, while making an urgent appeal to the drivers of motor vehicles and motorcycles to exercise greater caution while using the roads across the parish.

Dr Patrice Monthrope, the senior medical officer at the Noel Holmes Hospital, was quite emphatic in appealing for more careful use of the roads, telling The Gleaner that the number of accidents, resulting in serious injuries, was taking a heavily toll on the staff and facilities at the hospital.

“The number of motorcycle accidents and the amount of people suffering damage poses a huge concern to us at the Noel Holmes Hospital,” said Monthrope. “It puts a strain on us, because these persons must be transferred at times. In most cases, they are not wearing their helmets, and the injuries are more severe.”

With the Noel Holmes Hospital facing a staffing concern, alongside other challenges such as the availability of ambulances, the hospital is sometimes overwhelmed when there is a multiple-injury incident with many persons seriously hurt or required specialist attention, which may require them being transfer elsewhere.

“It really puts pressure on the hospital’s resources,” he said.

In speaking of the increasing popularity of motorcycles on the roads in the western parish, Monthrope said it is becoming increasingly important for users of the roads to become more cognisant of the rules of the road, especially with regard to the wearing of helmets and other safety gears.

Monthrope said motorcycle drivers and their pillions should always wear their helmets, slow down while using the roadways, and be more conscientious.

“Try to be a bit more careful, especially in the built-up areas,” he said, in urging the young people, who are the main perpetrators in the misuse of the roads, to put more value on their lives

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