Tufton: CRH overcrowding to ease by next week as more ward space to come on stream

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, said he expects the overcrowding at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, which triggered protest action by nurses and doctors at the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department, will be reduced by next week.

“The information I have is that by next week we will see some amount of easing… the end of next week when some of the ward space will be back in operation,” Tufton told The Gleaner.

Citing severe overcrowding and unsafe working conditions at the main facility serving western Jamaica, doctors and nurses went on strike today.

“Cornwall cannot continue as it is. It cannot continue. The doctors are burnt out, they’re stressed out,” said Dr Renee Badroe, president of the Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association (JMDA).

She said approximately 25 doctors are assigned to the department.

A group of nurses protested outside the institution on Friday.

It was unclear how many doctors and nurses were on duty on Friday morning.

Tufton said a combination of the flu season and the increased demand related to respiratory illnesses as well as Hurricane Melissa, which has damaged a lot of the ward space, has created a “double whammy” of a crisis space at the hospital. But he said contractors are on site, and work is taking place.

“I fully understand the fatigue the workers will be going through because of the high demand and they have people in the waiting in the area in the A&E who really should be on a ward,” he said.

Badroe said the A&E department, now temporarily housed in the former Mount Salem Health Centre due to ongoing construction work on CRH's main building, is operating far beyond capacity.

On Wednesday, she said, about 150 patients were being treated in a very small space, creating fire, health, and occupational safety hazards.

“You have doctors at risk of needle-stick injuries because patients are packed like sardines,” she told The Gleaner, noting that the risks extend to nurses and other staff. “Safety is a significant concern. It’s a fire hazard, it’s a health hazard.”

She said the already poor conditions deteriorated significantly after Hurricane Melissa caused further damage to infrastructure in October 2025.

“The infrastructure of Cornwall... especially following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, has really taken its toll on the staff. They're burnt out, and they're tired, and they don't agree that this is a place that patients are safe because of all the problems,” Badroe said.

Tufton, in the meantime, reiterated that the issue will be addressed in short order.

“It's a difficult situation, we fully understand, fully appreciate the concerns, and hoping that certainly over the next three to four weeks we will see a resumption of most of the ward space and therefore taking out some of that overcrowding,” he added.