US surgeon criticizes Jamaica’s health infrastructure after postponed surgery for child

United States-based surgeon Dr. Robert Brady is calling out the condition of Jamaica’s public healthcare infrastructure after his team was forced to delay a crucial surgery for an 11-year-old girl due to poor operating conditions.

Dr. Brady, section chief at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut, traveled with a team of specialists earlier this month to perform life-changing orthopedic surgeries for children facing severe health challenges, including scoliosis. Although Brady has visited Jamaica for nearly two decades to conduct these procedures, he described this trip as “terrible,” revealing that his team managed only five surgeries this time—four at the Bustamante Hospital for Children (BHC) and one at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). This falls well below the 12 to 16 surgeries they typically complete, which Brady attributed to inadequate infrastructure, including an operating theater that was plagued with mold, air-conditioning issues, and a lack of essential equipment.

The delay impacted young Ajanae Parchment, whose spinal curvature, initially diagnosed at 25 degrees, has since progressed to a severe 85 degrees. Her mother, Sandra Aitcheson, confirmed that the BHC’s operating conditions prevented her daughter’s surgery. Brady disclosed that his team had requested to perform surgeries at other hospitals due to the air-conditioning problems, but their request went unaddressed—a decision he found disappointing given the mission’s objective to help as many children as possible.