Health Minister, John Junor.HEALTH MINISTER John Junor, says he will shortly release details of the recommendations made in an interim report on the operations of the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon and the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA).
Mr. Junor met Monday with members of a committee set up just over six weeks ago to conduct a review. He said views were shared at the meeting and "some very good recommendations were made."
Last Wednesday, he told The Gleaner that: "Essentially, it's an interim report so I'm going to meet with them on it (and) following on that, I'll listen to where they say they need to go, if they need to go further."
He now has to review the interim report.
In late August, the Health Minister appointed a committee to look into the operations, following protests from staff and nearby residents at the impending removal of two staffers at the hospital.
Appointed to the committee were 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 were 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.
Relationships worsened between staff and SRHA management in late August, when health records technician Avril Dixon-Thomas was transferred from May Pen to the Lionel Town Hospital. Mrs. Dixon-Thomas had 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.
Things deteriorated even further when Dr. Winston Dawes, Senior Medical Officer (SMO) at the institution, who had corroborated her claim, was sent on leave. This, reportedly, further soured an already frosty relationship between himself and Parish Manager, Canute Thompson.
After protests from staff and residents, the Health Minister reinstated Dr. Dawes and ordered the internal audit. He told radio journalists earlier this week that he had already received a copy of the interim report.
