Senator Falconer and Mr. Trevor Francis... I have taken the senators advice and addressed the MOH... I have gone a step further and made a proposal, which includes an invitation to you and us...Please see my letter. I hope that i will receive a very positive response from you, The MOH and many others, at home and abroad... Dennis C. Mc Intosh, M.D. 4166 SW 190th Ave. Miramar, Fl 33029 626-222-3200 Cell / 954-251-2195 Home Leakyye@yahoo No fax 17 November 2014 Ms. Stephanie Shaw Smith, PR manager, MOH, Dr Kevin Harvey, Permanent Secretary, MOH Oceana Hotel Complex, 2-4 King Street Kingston 10, Kingston Jamaica Dear Sir/ Madam, On the advice of Senator Sandrea Falconer, I am redirecting my questions/comments, first asked of her, to you. My outrage was recently piqued by this article:: jamaicaobserver/news/No-incubator-at-Mandeville-Regional_17927473 In almost every social media group, the deficiencies in the Public Hospital system are being discussed. Even more heart wrenching is the fact that in 2009, an article in The Gleaner (jamaica-gleaner/gleaner/20090607/lead/lead2.html), reported on the death of an infant due to the lack of an incubator. It seems reasonable to assume, that more occur, than that which I am familiar. The nurses who improvised, as best they could, were scapegoat and blamed. How unfortunate that those responsible are not held accountable, which would lead to improvement rather than the perceived stagnation and neglect. By what standards, local, regional or international are REGIONAL HOSPITALS allowed to operate, without an adequate number of functional incubators???? THERE IS NO EXCUSE TO NOT HAVE AN ADEQUATE NUMBER OF INCUBATERS IN ANY REGIONAL HOSPITAL OR IN ANY FACILITY WHERE BIRTHS FREQUENTLY OCCUR. We know that they are needed and without them, babies die! No mother, as she recovers from the trauma of childbirth should suffer the pain of hearing, “He’s dead!”; this is especially horrific, when the death is so easily preventable. May I share with you that incubators can be rather simple and easily improvised or built….A simple warmer is better than nothing. Very little is required to improvise a workable incubator. When, after the earthquake, I served in Haiti, an “incubator” was “manufactured”, using a light bulb, a thermometer, a small crib, lots of aluminum foil and a piece of plastic. Our “hospital” was but a TENT, yet we performed major surgery and administered excellent care with the little that was available….Unlike several hospitals in Jamaica, our tent had an ”incubator”. May I also refer you to the following Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) article? jama.jamanetwork/article.aspx?articleid=432724 The above was published in 1912, and illustrates a method for constructing a simple incubator? I supply the reference to illustrate that the knowledge or methods are not beyond the reach of your ministry. Hopefully, this emphasizes that these deaths are largely preventable. Rather than simply complain and wait for excuses, I propose the following: 1) I will donate $100,000.00JMD as a prize for the winner of a competition between our engineering students. The task is to devise and design a simple incubator, which can be sourced and manufactured locally, that is not only affordable but also workable, doable and practical. 2) I challenge all who fly, at the government’s expense, to travel in the coach section and donate the difference between their Fist Class allotment and the coach fare, to a fund to purchase incubators for hospitals in need. This would have the added benefit of having the privileged few, mingle with the less fortunate, which should be an informative and beneficial experience. 3) I invite all Jamaicans to donate and specify whether their donation, in whole or in part, will be used to increase the size of the prize money or to purchase incubators. Specifically, I will ask Senator Falconer and Mr. Trevor Francis, CPA and Founder of RCFJ, to use their organization and resources to help organize this effort and to assist with its implementation I, of course, invite you and your good office to participate in this endeavor, which hopefully, will put an end to this longstanding dilemma, which allows the truncation of life, so soon after it begins. Respectfully, Dennis C. Mc Intosh, M.D.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 18:09:50 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015