Concerns being ‘aggressively’ addressed as CRH protest ends
Published:Tuesday | January 20, 2026 | 12:08 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Normality has returned to the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St James, following last week’s protest by disgruntled nurses and doctors, who went public in drawing attention to the poor working conditions and the overcrowding in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department.
In providing an update on the situation yesterday, Dr Delroy Fray, the clinical coordinator at the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), told The Gleaner that work is ongoing to address the concerns raised by the nurses and doctors. He said the work is expected to be finished by the end of this week.
“I went back there this morning (Monday), and they were back to as normal as they were before, from my observation. I went there at 7:30 a.m. just to check, and I can tell you this, that the repairs that should have been done on the ward, they are aggressively being done,” said Fray.
In fact, Fray believes that, based on what he saw, some additional space could be ready by today to alleviate some of the overcrowding concerns.
“I would not be surprised that by tomorrow (Tuesday) we are going to get some space, and by the end of the week, we’ll get all the space back. It is the first I have ever seen aggressive work like this in place, and it is being monitored, and all that,” Fray added.
Doctors from the CRH’s A&E Department joined the hospital’s nurses in taking strike action on Friday, citing unsafe working conditions and overcrowding in the department. The nurses had already been on strike since last week Monday.
REDUCTION THIS WEEK
Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, responding to Friday’s protests, projected that the overcrowding issue at the CRH should be reduced by this week. The CRH is already undergoing a multibillion-dollar rehabilitation exercise to address a multitude of issues to include noxious fumes from 2017. The rehabilitation work is slated to be completed by September this year.
During Friday’s protest action, it was reported that there were 301 patients at the hospital, with 88 of them waiting for beds in the A&E Department. The CRH’s bed-space capacity had been reduced from 350 beds to 156 beds, after more than half of the ward space was damaged due to the effects of Hurricane Melissa.
In the meantime, Fray acknowledged that last Friday’s protest action by the medical staff could create the belief that the way to get attention on burning concerns is to go the protest route.
“It seems like it [the protest] was a good thing, and it sounds a way, but it is true. We may soon protest because of the road in Montego Bay mashing up our cars, and we would have to go and protest, or else we are not going to get anything done. I don’t know if it is a precedent, but it looks like it could be, and that is all I can say,” said Fray.
Last Friday’s protest was the second at the CRH in as many months, after disgruntled nurses reported in November that they had to treat patients on the floor next to uncollected bodies, as well as having to use cups for basic sanitation due to a lack of running water.