FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2011

Minister of Health, Hon. Rudyard Spencer says it would be inappropriate for any public hospital to make a decision to discharge patients because of a lack of food. The Minister was reacting to stories in the media which claimed that patients were discharged from the St. Ann’s Bay Hospital because the facility had run out of food.

Checks by the Ministry with the North East Regional Health Authority indicate that no patient at the St Ann’s Bay Hospital was discharged under those circumstances.

Recently the NERHA implemented a new procurement system to improve cost efficiency and benefit from economies of scale in the purchase of food items which resulted in a delay in the delivery of meat items to the Annotto Bay Hospital. Chairman of the Board of NERHA, Wesley Davis explained that the matter has been satisfactorily addressed and regular deliveries have since resumed.

The ministry is also refuting claims that the Port Antonio Hospital was recently without cooking gas.