Press Release from the Ministry of Health:
Hon. Christopher Tufton
KINGSTON, Jamaica. Wednesday, October 11, 2023: The Ministry of Health and Wellness is delivering on its commitment to increase human resources for health, in particular the number of physicians available in the public health system.
Accordingly, some 727 doctors will be welcomed to the public health system following the approval of established posts within the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Regional Health Authorities.
Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton divulged details in Tuesday’s (October 10) sitting of Parliament.
“Today, Madam Speaker, I am pleased to announce that the Government, through the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, in keeping with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health & Wellness, has approved the operation of the promised new posts. This is in addition to the 140 additional posts that were granted in response to COVID-19. Madam Speaker, this is a roughly 60% increase in the number of physicians who can be employed within the health system,” the Minister said.
Improved Arrangements
At the same time, the Minister announced that as at April 2023, all physicians in the public health system now hold established posts, abolishing contractual employment of doctors. The move is in keeping with a three-stage reform of human resources for health, as announced in Minister Tufton’s Sectoral presentation on May 3.
Additionally, some 200 training posts will also be made available.
“This is the highest number of physicians employed to the public health system in Jamaica’s history. It is also the most significant increase in the number of doctors, at any one time, for the last 50 years,” the Minister revealed.
The expansion of the clinical workforce will allow for the health system to improve service delivery, Dr. Tufton explained.
“We are expanding services, especially in the peripheral hospitals. The Type C hospitals will all offer specialist services in General Surgery, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Anaesthetics, and Radiology in parish hospitals,” the Minister said.
Meanwhile, plans for nurses, public health inspectors and other professions supplementary to medicine are also being finalised.
The reform of the physician workforce is set to unfold over a 10-year period and will be implemented along with the continuing upgrades in infrastructure.
Under the phased implementation, the Ministry will on Sunday, October 15 begin advertising posts for the new jobs created for all hospitals and primary care centres within the public health system. This current phase will be rolled out over the next two to three years.
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Don’t applaud announcements! Don’t applaud the announcement of numbers! Don’t applaud nor give special rewards for an act that is a part of one’s required duty or an expression of being a Jamaican citizen. Hold the applaud, if any, and acknowledgement of performance for the timely implementation of the announcement within the budget.
ReplyDeleteRemember the doctors were always around but many were on disadvantageous short term contracts and some could not even get a contract. The recent announcement in Parliament is merely correcting an employment situation which should not have been.
Public health is not a numbers game to applaud! Where are the nurses and other support staff and equipment and health supplies to make the health care team deliver care at the required standard of the healthcare? A hospital can not run at the required standard when for example there is no doctor for night duty. What about the failure in ensuring the required bedside manners from the healthcare providers? What about the steps to prevent hospital infections?
No applaud (if any) until we get more announcements, and most importantly, implementation on these critical matters of healthcare raised above!