WRHA blames miscommunication for issue with pharmacy interns, says matter settled
Published:Monday | September 15, 2025 | 12:06 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
St Andrade Sinclair, the regional director of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), says poor communication was responsible for last Thursday’s outcry by pharmacy interns, who were reportedly sent home after just one day on the job.
The disgruntled interns took to social media to vent their frustration after they were allegedly told not to return to work at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St James and the Savanna-la-Mar General Hospital in Westmoreland, following their first day of work on September 1.
According to the interns, who did not identified themselves out of fear of being penalised, they were told that there was no money to pay them, hence the decision to send them home.
However, in an interview with The Gleaner, hours after the initial social media posts were publicised, Sinclair said the matter, which has since been resolved, stemmed from a lack of timely communication with the affected parties, as the WRHA had budgeted for five interns but were sent 13 persons.
“Everything takes communication, collaboration, and people working together, so that the information can flow. It was just information coming too late, and seeing that we are just coming out of an election and everything is destabilised, the information was just not in place on time,” said Sinclair.
“Everything is resolved now, and we made sure that we accepted all 13 pharmacy interns. It was only five that we had budgeted for, and it was 13 interns that were sent, so we had to see where the extra money was coming from, and, within less than a week, we resolved that,” he said.
The interns’ outcry came in the immediate aftermath of the recent general election, during a window when the new Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) administration has not yet announced its cabinet positions, to include the Ministry of Health and Welness, under which the WRHA falls.
Prime Minister-designate Dr Andrew Holness, the JLP’s leader, is to be sworn in next week, which will be followed by the swearing in of the new Cabinet members..
“Nobody planned for an election at this time, and a minister of health is not even in place as yet. I think it is tomorrow (last Friday) they are going to get the approval from the governor general for the Cabinet and the rest of the government,” Sinclair told The Gleaner.
Thursday’s narrowly averted conflict with the pharmacy interns followed strike action that was taken in June this year by medical technologists assigned to western Jamaica, over matters of welfare and working conditions.
At that time, the WRHA expressed surprise at the protest action, as the association was of the view that the issues which sparked the protest were being addressed and there was understanding on both sides.