In the normal routine of publishing newspapers we report the news and a wide variety of happenings which provide the basis for analysis and commentary. Occasionally, however, opinion columns and letters to the editor report news of national importance which deserve additional emphasis in our own editorial columns.

Two recent examples warrant such treatment as they deal with circumstances in the health sector, specifically the state of hospitals which are critical and central medical institutions in this vital public sector.

Elsewhere on this page, our regular columnist, Dr. Garth Rattray, has set out the sequel to his column published two weeks ago giving an account of his own experience with inappropriate action by security guards at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). As Dr. Rattray puts it, the revelations "ignited fireworks" of reaction and subsequently remedial action by the hospital management, which he outlines in today's column.

The other example of inappropriate circumstances at a hospital was recorded in a Letter of the Day which we published on September 14 titled, "Shocking state of roach-infested KPH." In that letter, a Jamaican woman who resides in Canada describes conditions she saw at the Kingston Public Hospital where her mother underwent surgery earlier this month.

She wrote about "rude nurses," a ward with a leaking roof and broken windows and "roaches crawling all over." We are in the process of seeking to ascertain further particulars of conditions at the KPH which may warrant further reporting. Suffice it to say that both the UHWI and the KPH should be models of pristine health care rather than attract the criticism we have reported.

We have to wonder, however, about what may be the standard not only of health care but the infrastructure at other public hospitals across the island. While the recent episodes of labour unrest involving nurses and doctors had to do mainly with remuneration, it may well be that other aspects of the working environment were less than salutary. In fact, the letter writer we cited spoke of "rude nurses" at the KPH.

In recent times we have reported on the matter of great arrears in the collection of hospital fees, which suggests that the funding of these vital public health institutions is grossly inadequate. Indeed, we have had reports of hospitals running short of bed linen and related material which relatives of patients have to supply.

Much effort has been made over several decades to improve conditions at the Corporate Area's two main public hospitals. Extensive renovation and the procurement of more up-to-date equipment have helped in this regard. The recent complaints would suggest, however, that standards are slipping - perhaps victims of the country's fiscal constraints and the frayed nerves of overworked and underpaid hospital staff.

Yet despite all its challenges, Jamaica has managed to develop and maintain a reasonably well-run public health system. It is imperative that we do not drop our guard either in sanitation or institution-to-client relationships.