Hospitals Fully Operational

All of the island’s 24 hospitals are now operational and offering full patient care services, said Director General at the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Ronald Jackson.
Mr. Jackson told JIS News in a recent interview that of the 309 health facilities in the island “210 are offering full service and 56 are offering partial service.”
A report from the Ministry of Health’s National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) indicates that all four hospitals in the western region – Cornwall Regional, St. James; Noel Holmes, Hanover; Savanna-La-Mar, Westmoreland; and Falmouth, Trelawny are fully functional. In the southern region, the Mandeville and Percy Junor hospitals in Manchester; May Pen and Lionel Town, Clarendon; and Black River in St. Elizabeth are also fully operational, in addition to St Ann’s Bay, St. Ann; Annotto Bay and Port Maria in St. Mary; and Port Antonio, Portland in the north east region.
Hospitals in the south east region, Linstead and Spanish Town in St. Catherine; Kingston Public, Victoria Jubilee, Bustamante Children’s, University Hospital of the West Indies, Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre, National Chest, Bellevue and Hope Institute in Kingston; and Princess Margaret Hospital in St. Thomas, have been restored to normal levels of operation.
Up to a week ago only seven of the island’s 24 hospitals were offering partial services, that is, emergency and in-patient care to the public, while full patient care services could be obtained at 17.
The Ministry of Health’s NEOC representative, Dr. Irving McKenzie, addressing a recent press briefing at ODPEM’s Camp Road office, noted that disruption in power supply and hurricane damage to 112 hospitals and health facilities were the chief reasons that led to the shut-down and reduction of services in the health sector. A number of health centres still remain closed.
The NEOC reported that as of August 29, power has been restored to 133 hospitals while 28 were operating on generator.
In the meantime, the Ministry’s cumulative levels of injury report indicate that four persons were killed during the hurricane while about 409 persons had injuries.