Jamaica Medical Doctor's Association Wants Public Correction

The Jamaica Medical Doctor's Association is calling on the Minister of Health and Wellness to retract what it describes as misleading comments regarding the recent protest action by medical interns. 

 

The association says the minister incorrectly stated that interns at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) protested over the shortage of beds in the accident and emergency department.

 

 

 

 

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Jamaica Medical Doctor's Association says the minister wrongly linked the interns protest action to a lack of bed space in the University Hospital of the West Indes accident and emergency department.

 

According to the association, the June 24 protest involved interns across Jamaica and was driven by concerns over brutal work schedules, some lasting more than 48 consecutive hours, as well as the lack of adequate on-call sleeping facilities.

 

President of the JMDA Dr Renee Badroe said, “The interns were not involved in any protest actions at the University Hospital of the West Indian in the accident and the emergency department. So, he has conflated two different events together and he has made it seem as if this were the doctors. Now I would like to make this very clear. We support the protest action that happened at the University Hospital of the West Indies.”

 

The association is also warning of a growing shortage of medical interns. It says fewer than 88 doctors graduated this year while the public health system requires more than 160 interns to meet demand.

 

The JMDA says the shortage combined with long hours increases the risk of fatigue and could affect the delivery of patient care. The association is calling on the minister to retract his statement, apologized to the interns and address the staffing and working conditions facing junior doctors.

 

Badroe said, “Come August, when the interns from last year have now matriculated, we are going to be in some serious problems because the number of juniors that graduated from this university class is about 88.  And of course, some of those would have to go back to their countries such as Barbados, Bahamas, Trinidad. They'd have to go back. We will not be receiving all 88. So, we are awaiting information from the ministry on how they plan to proceed.”

 

The association says the minister previously announced that an audit would be conducted to assess the facilities where interns sleep while on duty.

 

However, the JMDA says that audit should have been completed weeks ago, but the results have not yet been shared. The association says it is still awaiting a meeting with the ministry to discuss the findings and the plans to address the concerns raised by medical interns.

 

“Also in his press release, he was to do an audit of the facilities in which the interns were staying”, Badroe said.

 

She continued, “That audit should have been completed many weeks ago and we are still awaiting the results of that audit and we are still awaiting our meeting with the ministry with regards to the audit and the plans going forward because the issue that we now have is that there is an overlapping period right now where the interns from last year are now working with interns from this new graduating class.”

 

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has not yet responded to the JMDA's latest call for a retraction.