THE MANAGEMENT of the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) has announced that things are back to normal at the nation's premier health facility.

It reports that the spike in its admission rate recently has eased.

A release issued yesterday on South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) letterhead insisted that the increase in admissions during the period January 12 to 17 did not affect service delivery.

Earlier this week, The Gleaner reported that an increase in the number of men being hospitalised at the KPH resulted in the hospital's decision to have men and women share a ward. Additionally, some of its female patients had to be removed and housed temporarily at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, a maternity facility, which sits on the same property as the KPH.

"The hospital experiences an influx in critically ill patients from time to time and the period following the festive seasons is one such period," read a section of the release.

Unpredictable inflows

The release further stated that "inflows of patients at any time are unpredictable and the management of the hospital usually makes every effort to ensure that patients are not only housed comfortably, but that they are given the highest quality of care".

In addition, the hospital's management is insisting that at no time were male and female patients allowed to use the same bathroom or share the same cubicle.

They also noted that a number of structural improvement projects are under way which, when completed, should help to improve health-care delivery at the KPH.