Undue pressure on public hospitals from the previous People's National Party (PNP) administration's policy of free health care for children is making health-care providers fearful that any further move to free up health care in public-health facilities could be disastrous.
They say before any imposition of the sort can be made, Government must move with urgency to upgrade public hospitals and improve staff complements and equipment in the sector.
Government promised that its free health regime, which was a promise of its campaign leading up to the September 3 general election, would be instituted by April 2008.
Since the imposition of free health care for children by the Portia Simpson Miller-led administration in May, hospitals have been bending over backwards to meet the added demand on its accident and emergency (A&E) units.
The Bustamante Hospital for Children, for example, has been seeing up to three times the number of patients since the freeing up of health care for children, The Sunday Gleaner understands. Those seeking care in A&E increased from just about 100 patients to 300 last month.
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