Tufton: Steps already taken, more measures being implemented to boost health sector

Jamaica’s Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, says he is “focused on moving forward” and addressing challenges that may result from Cuban health personnel withdrawing from the island following the termination of medical cooperation between the two countries.

Responding to questions from journalists at a press conference earlier today about whether he was aware of alleged illegal practices involving the employment of the Cuban health professionals, Tufton said he was unsure whether consideration of that issue was useful at this time.

“The issues around when you are aware, when you are not aware… I’m not sure it adds any value to where we are now. At the end of the day, we have to serve the people on the ground, whether at St Joseph’s [Hospital] or elsewhere,” he said.

The Jamaica–Cuba Eye Care Programme at St Joseph’s Hospital in St Andrew is set to end on March 20.

The programme, launched in January 2010, offers free surgical treatment for persons suffering from cataracts, diabetic retinopathy damage to the retina caused by complications of diabetes mellitus and pterygium, a non-cancerous fleshy growth usually found on the surface of the eye.

After the Jamaican Government announced last week that it had ended a 50-year-old medical cooperation mission with Cuba, many Jamaicans rushed to the facility today to seek treatment from the Cuban health professionals ahead of their departure from the island.

The Government ended the decades-long mission due to unresolved issues in renegotiating the agreement, which expired in February 2023.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the programme became “untenable” due to concerns that Cuban medical personnel were not holding their own passports and that salaries — outside of overtime payments — were not paid directly to them but to the Cuban authorities in US dollars.

Jamaica’s decision comes amid increasing pressure from the United States over Cuba’s overseas medical missions, which Washington has accused of constituting forced labour and human trafficking.

Tufton said negotiations are ongoing for medical personnel from the Spanish-speaking country to secure individual contracts if they desire.

“We do not see the termination as a decision to discontinue the relationship; it’s really about the format of the relationship, and that has been made very clear,” he said.

He also asserted that Jamaica is not unprepared for the disruption their departure may cause and outlined several pre-emptive measures the Government has taken to deal with the possibility of fallout if all the Cuban health workers leave.

This, he said, includes the revision of duty rosters, increased use of overtime, extended work hours, and the redeployment of staff from low-demand areas to high-demand areas.

The Ministry will also be outsourcing some services to the private sector, Tufton said.

Additionally, he said 70 specialist nurses from Jamaica’s diaspora and elsewhere have been shortlisted for interviews to work in the country’s health sector.

The sector will also benefit from the services of 48 nurses and 33 doctors who were recipients of the Barry Wint Scholarship, which funded their university tuition in exchange for a bonded period of work with the Government.

Further, he said 100 nurses who are currently enrolled in the Ministry’s specialist nurses programme will complete their training in October and be promoted to their areas of specialty to help address the chronic shortage.

He also said the Government is at an advanced stage in concluding negotiations with Ghana and Nigeria to recruit nurses, while discussions around a similar arrangement are ongoing with India.

The minister also stated that he has received Cabinet approval to undertake direct recruitment through private recruiters.

He further indicated that an international recruitment unit will be established within the corporate services division of the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

“We’re not caught unprepared. That’s not to say there are not challenges, because there were always challenges, and I don’t want the impression to be given that you will not experience possible delays in different areas, because those challenges exist all along,” he said.

“It’s a matter of how we work through them, and we ask for your patience to ensure that we do so well.”

- Sashana Small

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