By Erica Virtue, Staff Reporter
Dr. Winston Dawes, Senior Medical Officer at the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon (centre), with supporters who demonstrated at the hospital yesterday demanding his reinstatement. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer
A LOUD roar of approval from demonstrators at the May Pen Hospital yesterday greeted the announcement that Dr. Winston Dawes, Senior Medical Officer (SMO) at the institution, had been reinstated with immediate effect.
Health Minister, John Junor, and other officials from the sector met yesterday and the Minister gave orders that the SMO be reinstated.
And, following a meeting at the hospital yesterday, regional director of the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), Fay Petgrave, said the decision had been taken to withdraw letters sending Dr. Dawes and parish officer, Canute Thompson, on leave, pending the outcome of an audit.
According to her, Dr. Dawes was sent on leave because "we wanted a period of calm in the hospital while we conducted the enquiry."
However, hospital officials and residents from the area would have none of it and demanded Dr. Dawes' return which, according to them, was an insult to the SMO after 27 years at the institution.
Matters came to a head within the last month when health records technician, Avril Dixon-Thomas, was transferred from May Pen to the Lionel Town Hospital.
Mrs. Dixon-Thomas charged that the hospital had turned away residents who were unable to pay medical fees, despite Government's policy that no one should be denied medical care because of inability to pay. Dr. Dawes corroborated her claims and this reportedly further soured an already frosty relationship between himself and Thompson. Dr. Dawes has also been calling for an independent audit to be done.
Yesterday, the Health Minister released the names of the persons who will conduct the hospital's audit over the next six weeks. They are Audrey Hinchcliffe, a consultant at Caribbean Health Management Consultants and chairman of the Nursing Council of Jamaica; Anthony Slater, of Career Management Consultant (former consultant with Peat Marwick); and Dr. Wynante Patterson former CMO and chairman of the National Family Planning Board.
They have been presented with seven terms of reference which include:
to review the effectiveness of the governance structures in the Southern Regional Health Authority; to review the management systems including the decision-making process at the May Pen Hospital and their impact on the budget and to investigate the underlying causes of the breakdown in relationships at the institution.
The vociferous demands of the demonstrators and the massive support by of the hospital staff, appeared to have taken SERHA by surprise.
Asked why was the decision taken to recall both, Mrs. Petgrave, said "we wanted calm to return to the hospital." The demonstrators of mostly women, hoisted Dr. Dawes on their shoulders, when the news of reinstatement came.
Dr. Dawes, supported by four of his children, including Sydney, (about four years old) thanked the people and his colleagues for their support. "Over the years, I have worked long and hard and for their (the people) benefit and they have always found me approachable regardless of who they are. The response has been tremendous," he said.
Speaking with The Gleaner prior to news of his reinstatement, Dr. Dawes said he has spoken personally with Mr. Junor and told him about some of the things that were going wrong at the hospital and urged him to intervene. He said the consultants also wrote to the Ministry and another letter with support of 70 per cent of the staff was sent to the chairman of the board, urging him to intervene.
Senior reporter, Eulalee Thompson, and correspondent John Myers, Jnr. also contributed to this story.
