An Observer file photo of a gun violence victim being removed from a police ambulance at the Kingston Public Hospital. Thousands more people are expected to utilise public hospitals and clinics when user fees are removed on April 1.

THE Ministry of Health, boosted by the injection of $100 million from the government, says all is set for the April 1 removal of user fees at public hospital and clinics, which will make health care available for thousands more Jamaicans.

Health Minister Ruddy Spencer, who said yesterday that everything was in place for the implementation of the new policy, told a press conference at his ministry in Kingston yesterday that $60 million had already been disbursed to the regional health authorities to carry out immediate upgrading of some public health facilities and to purchase additional chairs, filing cabinets and tents to accommodate the projected 30 per cent increase in patients expected on April 1.

The remaining $40 million, he said, has been earmarked to purchase small equipment and medical supplies such as suction machines and nebulisers.

"They are being purchased utilising the emergency procurement mechanism to ensure that the health facilities will have the supplies that are necessary to provide quality care to patients," Spencer told reporters.

Spencer, at the same time, dismissed criticisms that the government would not be able to support the new 'no-fee' policy.

"All the records that I have looked at. there is no year where we have been able to collect more than 15 per cent of that total cost. In other words, the 85 per cent had to be found somewhere else by the government," he said.

The minister said it would cost the government $3.85 billion to support the new policy. "What essentially we are picking up is the 15 per cent we used to collect," he said.
Nevertheless, Spencer admitted that critical shortage of key workers would prove a challenge in the implementation of the new policy and could result in additional workload for the island's health workers. However, he said while the gap cannot be filled in short order, regional health authorities have been instructed to take the necessary steps to employ suitably trained persons on a temporary and sessional basis.
"The human resource need is some 1,562 persons, including critical areas such as pharmacists, nurses, doctors and community health aides," he said.

Some 4,402 medical personnel currently work in the public health sector.

Under the new regime on April 1, at least 16 clinics across the island will be opened between 7:00 am and 8:00 pm, while some will be opened on Saturdays. But Spencer gave his assurance that employees who work overtime would be remunerated adequately.

"This is why we have to encourage all doctors, all nurses, community health aides to work additional hours," he said. "Let me express, without any reservation, the ministry's position, those who have volunteered to do additional work for the system to be successful, my instruction is that those people must be paid and must be paid on time."

Meanwhile, user fees will remain in place for private patients, patients with health insurance and non-Jamaica residents. Public patients with health insurance will not be required to co-pay, but the insurance companies will be billed.
Additionally, persons will be required to pay for morgue services, except for those services carried out for quality assurance or litigation purposes, and administrative fees for food handlers permits and immunisation, and medication for international travel.