Opposition presses government on hospital care after Cornwall Regional death and KPH surgery halt

Scrutiny of Jamaica's public hospitals has sharpened after a family demanded answers from staff at Cornwall Regional Hospital following the death of a relative who allegedly waited several hours for a bed, and elective surgeries at Kingston Public Hospital were disrupted by problems with the central air-conditioning system.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Kingston Public Hospital said the air-conditioning failures stem from infrastructure that is roughly 250 years old and from the deterioration of critical components that are not readily available locally.

The opposition issued its own media statement on Monday afternoon, urging Jamaicans to hold the Government accountable and pressing the Ministry of Health to commission independent assessments of infrastructure at both institutions, publish a detailed remediation timeline with measurable milestones, and allocate adequate resources for definitive corrective work.

Opposition health spokesman Dr. Alfred Dawes said the two incidents point to wider systemic failure. He recalled raising concerns last year about mould in operating theatres and the intensive care unit at Kingston Public Hospital, only to face claims of electioneering and mischief-making. Authorities announced the theatres would reopen within two weeks, he said, but did not obtain air-quality clearance to confirm the mould had been properly treated.

"They simply went in, applied some fresh coats of paint, and reopened the operating theatres," Dawes said.

On Cornwall Regional Hospital, Dawes argued the pressure goes beyond staffing and bed capacity. He described it as a policy issue, saying Jamaica should have spent the past decade addressing the growing number of chronically ill patients who arrive in acute crisis with high blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, and chest pain.

Although one case involves infrastructure and the other capacity, the opposition said both signal limited progress in strengthening the national health system. Dawes maintained the sector is moving backwards despite a healthcare budget that has grown from about $60 billion in 2016 to roughly $90 billion.

"We're moving backwards," he said, citing worsening maternal and child mortality rates and cancer rates that exceed both the global average and levels seen in many Caribbean neighbours.