Wed | Oct 15, 2025

Dawes raps Tufton for management of health sector in maiden speech

Published:Wednesday | October 15, 2025 | 12:09 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Parliamentary Reporter
Dr Christopher Tufton, minister of health and wellness, speaking in Parliament on Tuesday.
Dr Christopher Tufton, minister of health and wellness, speaking in Parliament on Tuesday.
Dr Alfred Dawes, opposition spokesman on health and wellness, addressing the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Dr Alfred Dawes, opposition spokesman on health and wellness, addressing the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
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Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton addressed Parliament on Tuesday with a statement outlining the Government’s actions to curb a potential rise in dengue fever. However, Opposition Spokesman on Health Dr Alfred Dawes quickly shifted focus to other pressing issues.

In his opening salvo, Dawes dismissed Tufton’s dengue update as out of touch with public concern.

He said there are questions “hovering around on social media about an Integrity Commission report; questions about how we are dealing with mental health in Jamaica; and the renaming and rebranding of a hospital that has leaking wards, overcrowded patients, and no capital budget for about five years coming from the Ministry of Health”.

When government members objected that Dawes was not addressing the statement made by Tufton, he cited Standing Orders 11(a)2, which permit him to raise other matters. He accused Tufton of embarking on a media campaign to distract from his management of the health ministry.

According to Dawes, the ministry has failed to take responsibility for growing mental-health concerns, instead shifting the burden to the public.

“This is a pattern of no accountability and deflection, denying involvement and then defamation of anyone who dares to criticise the honourable minister,” Dawes said.

He also raised concerns about alleged ministerial interference “in the composition of the board when they wanted to have a reformation of the leadership of that hospital”.

Dawes indicated that “if what is out there is true, then whatever we have been asking about in terms of clarity, in terms of breaches of procurement guidelines, in terms of outright fraud and misrepresentation and overpaying for equipment, then we will see whether or not this situation at the UHWI needs further drilling down”.

In response, Tufton offered a sharp rebuke: “The member may be practising for the next general election. This election is done. The people have spoken, and we are on this side.”

On the dengue issue, Tufton said that while activity remained low – with 375 cases reported so far this year compared to 1,319 during the same period in 2024 – the country is experiencing a rise in mosquito nuisance from insects not carrying the virus. He warned that Aedes aegypti populations, which transmit the dengue virus, could increase later this month.

Tufton announced enhanced vector-control measures, including fogging – particularly at schools on weekends – and a national clean-up campaign to eliminate mosquito breeding sites. He urged Jamaicans to remain vigilant and take preventive steps despite the current low case numbers.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com