Opposition concerned as US advises against travel to Jamaica due to medical services

By Prince Moore    

 

There is concern from the parliamentary opposition about what it says is the unprecedented travel advisory issued by the US government urging its citizens to reconsider travel to Jamaica due to the alarming state of the country's public healthcare system.

 

The advisory, issued Tuesday, urged US citizens to reconsider travel to Jamaica due to crime and medical services.

 

Americans were told that emergency services and hospital care vary throughout Jamaica and response times and quality of care may vary from US standards.

 

The US government says public hospitals in Jamaica are under-resourced and cannot always provide high level or specialized care.

 

Opposition Spokesman on Health Dr. Alfred Dawes says this is a wake-up call for all Jamaicans about the state of the healthcare system. 

 

"I have never seen before where you have an advisory being issued because of the permanent state of our healthcare sector. It's really alarming that we have gotten to this stage where, on one hand, we are talking about developing world-class facilities for medical tourism and at the same time, we are having an advisory telling citizens not to come to Jamaica for regular vacation, just in case they get sick," he lamented. 

 

Dr. Dawes said the US advisory highlights what Jamaicans have been experiencing at public hospitals and what the opposition has been trying to highlight for a while but has always been "met with rebuttals that it is all politicking". 

 

"We need to do better in terms of definitive actions and not just lip service, but there are some very easily picked low-hanging fruit that we can use to start seeing significant improvement immediately," he suggested. 

 

Dr. Dawes said the government should focus on addressing the issues at Cornwall Regional Hospital which is close to a tourist destination, as well as other hospitals in resort areas. 

 

"Cornwall Regional Hospital ought to be up and running poststate. We have to pump whatever resources that are needed, get the recommended expertise and get it done. We are throwing good money after bad but it has to be done immediately. At the same time, we have to look at the other resort towns. 

 

"Lucea Hospital has always had issues. We had a golden opportunity to renovate it and expand services during COVID. We let that slide. We have to look at how we're going to address all of these facilities in the resort areas. But beyond that, we have to look comprehensively at the entire healthcare system because we're not just here for tourists," the opposition spokesman proposed.