One week ago, my seven and a half year-old daughter had her tonsils and adenoids removed at the private wing of a hospital in Kingston. I had a great experience and felt really good about the manner in which the staff operated. I was really impressed. While the experience was really good, it opened my eyes to the state of health care for a typical Jamaican person.

From the moment I stepped inside this facility I was impressed. It was clean, welcoming and had no trace of the usual 'house of sickness and death' atmosphere that usually greets me at public hospitals I have visited. It was a relaxing atmosphere with very pleasant people who make up the staff. I concluded that this is the perfect environment for healing.

Warm environment

The procedure was overnight, so she was in a private room for the night and just the fact that you had your own space in a friendly and warm environment, with the 'trappings' to accompany it, brought home to me that if many persons could afford access to good health care they would probably live a lot longer.

I remember visiting a relative in a hospital once, the environment was miserable, the voices of suffering screamed from the walls and could be heard all over the room. The overworked staff could not extend themselves anymore to get to each voice fast enough. It was depressing, to the point where I just decided it's easier to die here than survive.

The contrast is the great divide, because even though there are many whose money cannot buy them good health, it certainly makes their last days more comfortable. However, there are those who just need the right atmosphere conducive for healing: a reclining bed, cool, fresh air, frequent checks from the nurses, medication right on hand and peace and quite. I believe many who have died never had to, if only they could have afforded to recover in the right setting.

What are we going to do? We live in the tropics, people come here from as far away as Finland to unwind, relax, rejuvenate and heal. What about our sick? How can we make this happen for them? They live here right in the middle of where it's at.

Let us think about it and in the meantime find legal and moral ways and means in which we can put aside a 'little something' that if, God forbid, we should end up ill, we can find good health care to improve the our quality of life.

I am, etc.,

MICHELLE ELLIOTT-SMITH

michieboo32@yahoo.com

Kingston 3