Dawes questions whether country getting value for money as public health budget rises

 

 

Opposition Spokesman on Health and Wellness Dr. Alfred Dawes is questioning whether Jamaicans are getting value for money from the increase in the public health budget.

 

Dr. Dawes' concern comes against the backdrop of a World Bank report which showed that non-communicable diseases (NCDs) cause close to four in every five deaths, while maternal and neonatal mortality remain too high, and there's a chronic shortage of healthcare professionals, among other issues.

 

He said public health spending has risen from $60.15 billion in 2016/17 to more than $200 billion in 2026/27, but there remain the rising costs for medication, staff shortages, late diagnoses and weak accountability.

 

According to Dr. Dawes, the priority now must be to ensure increased spending delivers better healthcare for Jamaicans.

 

"We must reset spending around four priorities. Fund primary care so health centres are open, staffed and stocked. Train, retain and deploy doctors, nurses and technicians. Buy and maintain public hospital equipment and enforce service level agreements with quarterly published data on wait times, equipment downtime, staff vacancies and drug availability. Start with the mother in the labour ward and the patient on the waiting list. This government needs to wake up and realise that PR isn't the prescription for the health of this nation," he contended.