The Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ) President, Dr Winston De La Haye, has shown disgust over the poor working conditions doctors have to endure at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH).

His concerns were generated after a visit by a team of MAJ officers to the emergency room and a number of clinics at the facility turned out some unsatisfactory results.

The president argued that the high patient-to-doctor ratio in the clinics was alarming.

"We were surprised to hear that we were visiting on a "light day", given the large number of patients seen waiting in the areas visited," De La Haye stated in a release, yesterday.

He said one doctor reported seeing as many as 30-40 patients in a day, while many are only able to complete their large clinic list with the help of their colleagues, who are not scheduled to be in clinic at that time.

He argued that the patients were also displeased with the service they received. The long waiting time, the limited staff, and the belief that the abolition of user fees was contributing to the high patient-to-doctor ratio were some of the sentiments expressed by several patients at the facility.

"Physicians in the clinics empathised with the dissatisfaction expressed by patients about the long waiting period but assured me that they were doing the best they could with the available resources," he said.

not practising required standard

De La Haye went on to say some doctors were not practising at the required standard.

"Many physicians who completed their speciality training many years ago were working as Grade II doctors, not as consultants. No hope was expressed that this situation of unavailability of posts will be rectified in the near future," Dr De La Haye said.

"Physicians working at the facility appeared to be demoralised by the present conditions under which they work. They were all very happy to be able to ventilate and express their frustration."

He said there were reports of repeated complaints to the authorities, and the general feeling expressed by the doctors was that the current system used by the Regional Health Authority (RHA) was ineffective.

The association president recommended that a survey of the impact of the abolition of user fees on hospitals, like the KPH, be commissioned immediately as the health sector was in crisis.

He also said a review of the abolition of the no-user-fee policy in hospitals and the implementation of the review of the RHA was important.

nadisha.hunter@gleanerjm.com