Chickenpox outbreak at Linstead hospital sparks concern over staff vaccine costs

A chickenpox outbreak affecting staff at Linstead Public Hospital in St. Catherine has drawn sharp criticism from Sydney Rose, chairman of the municipal corporation’s health and sanitation committee, over the hospital’s reported treatment of employees exposed on duty.

Rose said Thursday that the issue was not simply the outbreak, but what he described as an unacceptable response from hospital management. He said a member of the clinical team informed him that the outbreak began the previous Friday or Saturday and that several medical and non-medical workers had since contracted chickenpox.

According to Rose, affected clinical staff were initially told they would have to pay $9,500 for the chickenpox vaccine. He said staff members objected strongly, after which the position was reportedly adjusted so that employees would pay 30 per cent of the cost while the hospital covered the balance.

Rose argued that such an arrangement was unfair, saying the workers appeared to have contracted the illness while caring for chickenpox patients at the hospital. He also raised concern about sick leave, saying staff were reportedly being granted five days off and that the time was being treated as part of their usual sick-leave entitlement.

He said five days would not be enough in any event, noting that recovery from chickenpox can take between seven and 14 days.

Denise Douglas, Deputy Chief Public Health Inspector for St. Catherine, said the chickenpox situation at the hospital had been brought to the department’s attention and was being investigated. She said concerns about whether staff were receiving adequate sick leave, including the reported five-day period, fall under human resources, and she could not speak to that aspect.