Tufton: Field hospital in Falmouth close to completion

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, says the field hospital being erected on the grounds of the Falmouth Public General Hospital in Trelawny is close to completion.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dunstan Bryan, during a virtual press conference on January 2, had stated that the field hospital was slated to be completed by end of January.

“[It] will need another week or so to come up to speed…. It is a nice facility, very spacious, comfortably equipped to hold 36 additional COVID-19 patients and I think it will be a nice addition to the COVID ward capacity that we need in the region,” Tufton said.

Tufton noted that currently, the COVID – 19 ward capacity is strained in the Western region of the island. The Health Minister was addressing a press briefing following a tour of the facility on Friday.

“We are under pressure in the region, there is over 90 percent occupancy of our COVID wards. It is the highest that it has been since we have had to deal with COVID in the region, and it is certainly higher than the national average of about 85 percent,” he said.

He added: “So Western Jamaica is under pressure, and at this rate if we continue to see increases in the numbers of COVID cases, you are likely to see increases in the number of hospitalisations, because the two are related, and from there you are likely to see a greater burden on the public health system.” 

Tufton further stated that personnel continues to be an issue, especially during the pandemic.

“We continue to have challenges with personnel. Under normal circumstances we have challenges, particularly as it relates to our nursing compliment and our specialist nurses in particular who are highly demanded, not just in Jamaica but globally, [they are] heavily recruited, and so there is never enough,” he noted.

“Under these circumstances with expanded capacity, it is a challenge and we have to try and ensure that we make do with what we have or who we have. Some have to double up in terms of shifts, we will bring additional personnel on board and that is being actively pursued now,” Tufton emphasised.

The Minister further underscored that there is no antidote for “irresponsible behaviour” during the pandemic.

“Therefore no matter how much capacity we add, no matter how many nurses, doctors or beds we can provide, we will never be able to keep up with the pace if we have a runaway situation with infections and infection rates. So while we can say that the government [has] been proactive in securing additional space, we have to accompany that message with [a call] for persons to follow the protocols,” he said.

Meanwhile, Senior Medical Officer at the Falmouth Public General Hospital, Dr Leighton Perrins told journalists that the staff at the facility welcomed the field hospital.

“Hopefully… it will be handed over to us [soon] which would be a positive thing for [the hospital], but also for the parish of Trelawny and the Western region, so we will be able to care for [more] patients who are infected with COVID-19…….because we are at full capacity at the moment and we need the space,” Perrins said.

The 36-bed facility is one of four field hospitals being established across the island to provide 152 additional bed spaces to facilitate the treatment of persons with COVID-19.

A second 36-bed facility will be based at the Mandeville Regional Hospital in Manchester, while the other two field hospitals will be erected at the National Chest Hospital and the St Joseph’s Hospital in the Corporate Area.

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.