Cuban exit exposes specialist gaps at CRH

WESTERN BUREAU:

The departure of 27 Cuban healthcare workers from Cornwall Regional Hospital has exposed critical gaps in specialist care, forcing the Government to turn to the diaspora, Africa, and India to fill the void.

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, speaking at a press briefing in Montego Bay, St James, on Thursday, said the group – comprising 22 nurses, three doctors, and four radiotherapists – had been filling roles that could not easily be staffed locally.

While the hospital has since recruited additional personnel, including 25 nurses, 18 patient- care assistants, and several doctors, Tufton stressed that these hires do not replace the expertise lost.

“They are not a replacement for the Cubans … . The Cubans were specialists,” he said.

The exit forms part of a wider shift in Jamaica’s decades-old medical cooperation programme with Cuba, which spanned five decades and long supplemented the island’s public-health system with specialist personnel.

At the start of this year, there were approximately 260 Cuban healthcare workers in Jamaica, including about 50 assigned to the Western Regional Health Authority, where Cornwall Regional Hospital is located.

The loss is being felt most acutely in specialised areas such as oncology, where four radiotherapy positions remain vacant and local replacements have not been identified.

Tufton pushed back against suggestions from the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association that Jamaican doctors could readily fill the posts, noting that the Cuban workers had been brought in specifically to address gaps in specialised care.

“The reason why the Cubans were here was because they filled posts that were not easily filled by locals,” he said.

To address the shortfall, the Government has shortlisted approximately 70 candidates from the diaspora, drawn from a wider pool of applicants, with interviews now under way.

At the same time, Jamaica is expanding recruitment efforts internationally, with agreements being finalised with Ghana and Nigeria, and engagement is under way with India’s Apollo hospital system to source skilled personnel.

In the interim, Tufton said existing staff are being required to “double up” to maintain services, particularly in high-demand areas such as oncology.

Despite the challenges, he maintained that the hospital continues to function, though under pressure, as efforts continue to secure the specialised expertise needed to stabilise operations.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com