The Minister of Health, Dr. Christopher Tufton, Nurses Association of Jamaican, (NAJ), Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ), and the Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association (JMDA), met this morning to discuss the ongoing efforts to find solutions to the challenges being faced at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, CRH.
The teams agreed to work together to preserve critical areas of services at CRH while minimizing the adverse impact on staff and patients at the facility. The team discussed plans related to the continued relocation of services and patients to identified locations.
The four groups agreed to work together to implement the following:
- The isolation and cleaning of the Operating Theatres and adjoining ward facilities to accommodate dire surgical emergencies.
- The relocation of other critical patients to alternative accommodations on the compound within three weeks
- Continued rerouting of various services to other hospitals including Savanna-La-Mar and Falmouth as well as other medical facilities. Activities are underway to strengthen these areas to accommodate the increased patient load.
- Containment measures have begun to isolate the more severely affected areas of the hospital’s main building and alternate access points have been established.
In recognizing the importance of communication during this period, the Ministry of Health has committed to daily briefings with all stakeholders to ensure that they are aware of any developments. The groups reiterated their commitment to working together to reducing the impact of the current situation on the wellbeing of staff and patients. Revised working arrangements for staff are under discussion.
The Ministry expressed its appreciation to members of the health team and other members of staff for their understanding and support during this difficult period. The groups are appealing to the public for their understanding and patience and ask that they utilize alternative medical facilities as much as possible.