No free health without preventative health care
The ruling JLP seems committed to keeping a number of promises that were made on the campaign trail. Significantly, they have already held faith in removing the fees for tuition to students at the secondary level of education. The greatest test is yet to come now that the government has decided to go ahead with the abolition of user fees in health facilities across the island.
This is one of the biggest promises to be fulfilled and one wonders whether with the burgeoning economic problems we have been facing, the government can deliver on this promise this year. Even the world’s best economists could not have predicted the crisis that is now facing the world economy. The locomotive of the world economy, the United States, is sputtering at best. The mortgage crisis shows no signs of abating. Inflationary expectations have increased with the rapid rise in the price of fuel which has affected every facet of the economy.
The ill health of the American economy inevitably affects us in Jamaica, especially since we have become so dependent on remittances from abroad of which those from America form the greatest part. The prime minister has recognised that the Jamaican economy will be affected by these economic world trends. It will be interesting to see what strategies will be addressed in the impending budget to address these important matters.
Against the background of this unanticipated yet growing problem in the Jamaican economy, the government has to be prudent in terms of how it seeks to carry out the implementation of the free health policy that it promised. Any reasonable person would understand that, in light of our present troubles, a postponement of this policy would be in tandem with sound planning, if not consummate common sense. But we are not always reasonable people and there will be those who would criticise the government for bad faith, even if in their best judgment they understand the prudence of such a postponement. This is where partisan politics trumps rationality in a political culture given to one-upmanship.
The government believes it can implement the policy and is proceeding full speed ahead, notwithstanding the anxiety among members of the medical fraternity as to whether this can be done in the time frame recommended. We do not know the level of collaboration that is taking place between the government and the health sector in ensuring a smooth implementation of the programme. If they are not fully on board, how successful can the programme be? What assurance can the minister of health give the nation that chaos will not ensue if the ministry goes ahead as planned?
In the meantime, the Nurses Association is vowing to hold the government to its promise of a massive increase of pay to nurses. Will the nurses see the implementation of a free health policy as a fillip to their cause? If so, will we see increased protest and instability in the delivery of primary health care in the country?
There is yet another aspect that any free health-care policy cannot ignore. This has to do with preventative health care. Statistics have demonstrated that the burden on the health services is related largely to health problems which could have been averted if people were practising preventative health care. The burgeoning health problem is largely a function of lifestyle choices that people make, many of which are not holistic choices. For example, drug addiction (including alcohol addiction) is a major drag on our health services. Obesity and type-two diabetes is the main result from a lack of discipline with regard to diet and proper nutrition. Even doing one half-hour of regular exercise (such as a brisk walk) can be effective in preventing disease and creating a feeling of well-being.
The truth is that we cannot expect to have good health unless we are disciplined in the way we live our lives. No free health-care policy can be effective which ignores the corresponding responsibility that the general populace ought to have about its own health. There is need for the radical modification of lifestyle choices that are compatible with healthy living. Outside of this there will be those who will think they can indulge their habits because if they get sick “Big Daddy” is there to provide for them. I hope I am wrong in this because the cost of this irrational thinking would be astronomical. A free health policy must be accompanied by a proactive educational programme on preventative health care. Over to you, Mr Minister.
Tags: good health, health, health care, health facilities, health problems, implementation, judgment, obesity, own health, primary health, protest, risk