Health ministry launches citizens charter and wait experience programme

The Ministry of Health and Wellness on Tuesday formally launched a Citizens Charter and a Wait Experience Programme, framing both as tools to sharpen service delivery, accountability and how Jamaicans are treated in the public health system.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton told the launch that the Enabling Environment in Health and Client Services Division, established in 2024, was created to strengthen the patient journey beyond long-standing rights documents already posted in facilities. He said roughly three million visits were recorded last year across health centres and hospitals, and that while most encounters end satisfactorily, a single poor experience can erode trust if people do not know where to seek redress before turning to media or social platforms.

Principal Director Dr Kimarly Humphrey said the charter is a public promise on transparency, quality and the standards citizens should expect. The wait experience programme, she said, recognises that delays cannot always be eliminated but that patients must still feel valued while they wait. She reported that in financial year 2025–26 the division logged 387 complaints, closed 222 to customers' satisfaction, and trained 386 service excellence practitioners across the sector.

Danielle Jones-Cox, senior director in the Ministry of Finance's Modernization Programme Implementations Unit, said the charter aligns with the government's Service Excellence policy, approved by Cabinet in March 2022 and rolled out in July that year, and with Vision 2030's goal of a healthy, stable population. She warned that publishing standards invites higher public expectations and accountability.

Jamaica Customer Service Association chairman Shirley Bridgeman welcomed the initiatives as a step toward dignity and communication in care, noting the timing during mental health awareness month.

Dr Tufton and Dr Humphrey unveiled the charter and presented copies to ministry leadership and regional health authority representatives, including Damian Dunbar (Southeast), Teresa Fraser (Southern), Alicia Whittingham-Gail (Western) and Latoya Porter-Harriott (Northeast). Officials said the wait experience programme will target more comfortable, accessible waiting areas for elderly people, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups as rollout continues across the public system.