The Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association, JMDA, is this afternoon going public with what it says is its long standing request to have an urgent meeting with Health Minister Dr. Fenton Ferguson about the chronic impact of budget cuts on the sector.
In a statement this afternoon, the JMDA disclosed that its latest request to meet the country’s Health Minister was June 18 this year.
According to the medical doctors, that formal request for a meeting is one of several attempts to meet with Dr. Ferguson.
The JMDA says it wishes to engage the Health Minister about several urgent and pressing concerns raised by its members and various hospital groups.
A copy of the letter sent to Dr. Ferguson’s office was attached in the statement to the media issued today by the JMDA.
The JMDA notes that it has stated repeatedly, that cuts in budget allocations to hospitals and health centers have significantly affected the standard of care that’s due to patients.
It says it will continue to stand as advocates for the quality of care that patients receive at hospitals.
The association says its concerns are shared by other stakeholders groups.
The JMDA says in light of the non-responsiveness of the Health Minister and the deterioration in the standard of care in the system it’s forced to use a public forum to request a meeting with Dr. Ferguson.
