Ja Gov claims it spends $600 million annually for patients negligence. This figure not adding up
Published at : November 24, 2021
Just under $600 million of taxpayers' money has to be found each year to care for the almost 300 Jamaicans who have been discharged from public hospitals but have been left there by relatives unwilling to take them home.
The dilemma faced by the State of caring for those patients, described by the Ministry of Health and Wellness as “social cases”, was brought to national attention by Dr Christopher Tufton in a statement to Parliament on November 10.
At the time, Dr Tufton, the health and wellness minister, did not place a cost on the services provided by hospitals, saying only that nearly 300 beds, or five per cent of the beds in the public health system, are taken by social cases
Last week, however, the ministry, in response to a Jamaica Observer query, said that the cost to care for one social case for a year is approximately $1,991,461.92. The cost includes staffing, accommodation, meals, toiletries, personal care items, and medication.
In his parliamentary statement, Dr Tufton had said that social cases ultimately contribute to overcrowding in hospitals and, therefore, affect the delivery of health care.
According to Dr Tufton, some of those individuals have been left in hospitals for as long as seven years. As such, part of the ministry's effort to deal with the problem will involve filing civil suits, starting next January, against families who have abandoned relatives in health facilities.
He said that the ministry, through its social work case management process, has identified families that are able to support the care and treatment of social cases but have refused to take the responsibility.
“We know of cases of persons who are receiving pensions from overseas but relatives have refused to use these funds to support their relatives in hospital,” Dr Tufton said, adding that there are also instances in which people have been abandoned in hospital and their relatives have rented their property and refused to use those resources to care for the owners of the property.
Tufton's announcement has found favour with administrators of public hospitals, who say they are buckling under the weight of caring for such patients.
“That's a welcomed change, Kingston Public Hospital CEO Burknell Stewart told the NEWS.
“We have been suffering from social cases taking up sometimes even 30 beds both mental patients and otherwise — because as an institution our first obligation is the care and safety of all our patients and it is irresponsible to send a patient out knowing that they don't have anywhere to go,” he said.
Stewart was unable to provide the specific monthly cost of accommodating those patients at KPH, but said it could be equivalent to the cost for a short stay at a hotel, which is more than US$200.
He also noted that the cost to deal with social cases would be reliant on the dependency level of patients.
“You have persons who are high functional, so they can bathe themselves, they can make their own beds. There are persons who are bed-bound who will take more resources and, of course, three meals a day and doctors still have to make the rounds to check on them. They also use water, they use electricity. It is a lot, he told the NEWS
Jacqueline Ellis, CEO at Spanish Town Hospital, said there are 21 social cases there. Of that number five are paediatric patients.
She said arrangements are being made with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency to have the children relocated from the hospital to alternative State care.
“Of course, they would be taking up critical bed space that could be used for treating other patients. The facility is always over capacity. We were built to house 227 patients and, as we speak, I have 408 admissions. So you would imagine that 21 beds would really help right now, but they are here and we are working assiduously to find housing for them and also to locate relatives who are willing and able to care for them,” she said.
Asked if she supports the ministry's plan to file civil cases, she said, “Certainly, especially when our health minister said there are relatives who have been collecting rent from the houses [of the abandoned patients] or collecting pension. Certainly I would support that.
At Mandeville Regional Hospital, CEO Alwyn Miller said there are approximately seven social cases there.
“The numbers fluctuate. Persons come in and out. Social workers will speak to them and they will have them reunited with their families where possible, or have them placed. Unfortunately it doesn't always work out. Kudos to our social workers. They really work very hard to try and help us to manage those numbers. We are thankful,” he said.
Miller said the annual cost to his hospital per social case is approximately $1,958,955.
He said the cost will fluctuate depending on the type of illness afflicting patients.
“The opportunity cost of a bed being occupied by a long-standing social case is most significant as more severe patients
The dilemma faced by the State of caring for those patients, described by the Ministry of Health and Wellness as “social cases”, was brought to national attention by Dr Christopher Tufton in a statement to Parliament on November 10.
At the time, Dr Tufton, the health and wellness minister, did not place a cost on the services provided by hospitals, saying only that nearly 300 beds, or five per cent of the beds in the public health system, are taken by social cases
Last week, however, the ministry, in response to a Jamaica Observer query, said that the cost to care for one social case for a year is approximately $1,991,461.92. The cost includes staffing, accommodation, meals, toiletries, personal care items, and medication.
In his parliamentary statement, Dr Tufton had said that social cases ultimately contribute to overcrowding in hospitals and, therefore, affect the delivery of health care.
According to Dr Tufton, some of those individuals have been left in hospitals for as long as seven years. As such, part of the ministry's effort to deal with the problem will involve filing civil suits, starting next January, against families who have abandoned relatives in health facilities.
He said that the ministry, through its social work case management process, has identified families that are able to support the care and treatment of social cases but have refused to take the responsibility.
“We know of cases of persons who are receiving pensions from overseas but relatives have refused to use these funds to support their relatives in hospital,” Dr Tufton said, adding that there are also instances in which people have been abandoned in hospital and their relatives have rented their property and refused to use those resources to care for the owners of the property.
Tufton's announcement has found favour with administrators of public hospitals, who say they are buckling under the weight of caring for such patients.
“That's a welcomed change, Kingston Public Hospital CEO Burknell Stewart told the NEWS.
“We have been suffering from social cases taking up sometimes even 30 beds both mental patients and otherwise — because as an institution our first obligation is the care and safety of all our patients and it is irresponsible to send a patient out knowing that they don't have anywhere to go,” he said.
Stewart was unable to provide the specific monthly cost of accommodating those patients at KPH, but said it could be equivalent to the cost for a short stay at a hotel, which is more than US$200.
He also noted that the cost to deal with social cases would be reliant on the dependency level of patients.
“You have persons who are high functional, so they can bathe themselves, they can make their own beds. There are persons who are bed-bound who will take more resources and, of course, three meals a day and doctors still have to make the rounds to check on them. They also use water, they use electricity. It is a lot, he told the NEWS
Jacqueline Ellis, CEO at Spanish Town Hospital, said there are 21 social cases there. Of that number five are paediatric patients.
She said arrangements are being made with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency to have the children relocated from the hospital to alternative State care.
“Of course, they would be taking up critical bed space that could be used for treating other patients. The facility is always over capacity. We were built to house 227 patients and, as we speak, I have 408 admissions. So you would imagine that 21 beds would really help right now, but they are here and we are working assiduously to find housing for them and also to locate relatives who are willing and able to care for them,” she said.
Asked if she supports the ministry's plan to file civil cases, she said, “Certainly, especially when our health minister said there are relatives who have been collecting rent from the houses [of the abandoned patients] or collecting pension. Certainly I would support that.
At Mandeville Regional Hospital, CEO Alwyn Miller said there are approximately seven social cases there.
“The numbers fluctuate. Persons come in and out. Social workers will speak to them and they will have them reunited with their families where possible, or have them placed. Unfortunately it doesn't always work out. Kudos to our social workers. They really work very hard to try and help us to manage those numbers. We are thankful,” he said.
Miller said the annual cost to his hospital per social case is approximately $1,958,955.
He said the cost will fluctuate depending on the type of illness afflicting patients.
“The opportunity cost of a bed being occupied by a long-standing social case is most significant as more severe patients
Ja Gov claims it spends $600 million annually for patients negligence. This figure not adding up