Virus wave turns screws on some hospitals

Dozens of hospital staff islandwide are in isolation following a surge in COVID-19 infections amid a global eruption of the Omicron variant, limiting outpatient care and halting surgical operations at some facilities.

For the first time since September 2020 when the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) began reporting on daily COVID-19 cases, Jamaica recorded more than 1,000 infections.

On Wednesday, there were 1,128 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with Kingston and St Andrew accounting for 480 and St Catherine 211. All other parishes accounted for fewer than 100 cases each.

The highest number of daily infections recorded previously was 929 on August 28, 2021, when several people were believed to have died from an oxygen shortage at some hospitals.

Up to Christmas Eve, 63 staff from the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) in St Andrew had contracted the virus. That number soared to 133 by January 1, according to the UHWI’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kevin Allen. The figure amounts to a 52 per cent increase in infections among staff.

“Our services have been impacted, but we are coping,” he told The Gleaner on Thursday.

He did not outline the nature of the impact.

At Spanish Town Hospital, 33 doctors are out with COVID-19, CEO Jacqueline Ellis confirmed, in addition to five nursing-related staff.

The vaccination rate for doctors at the health facility is more than 90 per cent.

“Certainly, it has definitely put a lot of pressure on the hospital,” Elis said.

She reported that the hospital’s management has assessed services offered to determine areas that can be reduced.

“For A&E, we can’t really scale back our admissions, so our main focus would be outpatient department and elective surgeries,” she said.

She said reviews are being conducted for the cases of several patients to determine the length of time they are able to wait with a view to changing their service dates.

Acting CEO of the Kingston Public and Victoria Jubilee hospitals, Dr Natalie Whylie, has also indicated that there has been an uptick in the number of healthcare workers who have contracted the virus.

Data, however, were not readily available.

“Both the Kingston Public and Victoria Jubilee have seen an increase in line with what is happening in the general population of healthcare workers who have reported respiratory symptoms,” said Whylie.

“We would have done Christmas-related activities. So if there is an uptick, which we are seeing, then we would see an uptick as well.”

Operations have continued as normal, said Whylie, despite the increase in infections among staff.

At Princess Margaret Hospital in St Thomas, infections among staff members have increased, CEO Melecia Linton has said, impacting operations at the Type C hospital in the eastern end of the island.

“We have had three persons’ results come back positive. This does impact on human resources, especially within the nursing group because we already suffer from a challenge with staff shortage in the nursing department,” Linton said, adding that the absence of a single nurse impacts the hospital’s ability to respond efficiently to patients.

Eighteen staff members are in quarantine at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, but CEO Alwyn Miller has indicated that this does not represent a significant figure. The total staff complement is 823.

He said the challenge lies in the number of COVID-19 hospitalisations.

Miller told The Gleaner that the hospital’s primary isolation ward is at capacity, with 26 COVD-19 patients taking up bed space.

“From a staffing perspective, we are managing up to this point,” he said.

CEO of Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James, Charmaine Beckford, and acting CEO of Port Antonio Hospital in Portland, Chuck Berry, are reporting that there has not yet been any significant impact on staff.

“We are not overrun, and we are managing pretty fine. We have not gone over the limit where we are saying, ‘Boy, it is overwhelming.’ We are managing pretty fine. I think that the symptoms that persons are facing in this round (fourth wave) are not life-threatening or causing them to be on oxygen, and stuff like that,” Berry said, adding that he was not aware of any staff member testing positive for COVID-19 in recent times.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has acknowledged the increase in cases among healthcare workers, telling journalists at Thursday evening’s COVID Conversations that reports have begun to reach the ministry from the regional health authorities.

“We’re monitoring that situation. It does lead and would lead to some slowdown in some areas,” he said, noting that outpatient services and elective surgeries are being affected.

The minister called the developments concerning and said that the unvaccinated population continues to impact hospital operations by taking up bed space. Around 20 per cent of Jamaicans are fully vaccinated.

“[This] is why we have to frown on those who are not vaccinated because they are letting us down. It’s an important point. I’m sorry, but I’m prepared to offend,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie has noted that there is geographical spread, with 55.9 per cent of communities being affected.

She said COVID-19 bed occupancy is again on the rise, putting pressure on the health system.

“Several hospitals now have to be considering changing service delivery by curtailing some activities to be able to manage the COVID beds,” the CMO said.

At the same time, she noted that Jamaica is not yet ahead of case projections of 1,500 to 1,600 daily infections in the peak week.

She said the current projection is that by next week, daily cases will have increased to 1,500.

– Shanna Monteith and Gareth Davis contributed to this story.