Over 30 students had to be taken to hospitals in Jamaica on Monday following the 5.6 magnitude earthquake that jolted the island.
During a press conference on Monday afternoon, the island’s Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, confirmed that most of the children who visited the health facilities suffered anxiety or panic attacks.
“There were 14 children seen at the accident and emergency department at the Spanish Town Hospital with episodes of anxiety. They were clinically stable, reassured and sent home. Two patients were seen at the Linstead Hospital in relation to the quake,” Tufton said.
In Kingston, the Bustamante Hospital for Children, Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) and the University Hospital of the West Indies all reported increased visits of cases involving primarily students suffering from anxiety. Tufton said KPH had one trauma patient who fell from a tree, while the Bustamante Hospital reported injuries in children from nearby primary schools.
“At 3pm, 21 students were brought in from six primary schools, four were admitted for observation, three with mild head injuries, one post-seizure who is a known epileptic patient; all are clinically stable, and 10 have been discharged so far while others are awaiting observation periods to be completed,” Tufton shared.
The minister said “most were anxious and had no physical injuries.”
Earthquake triggers anxiety and stress
Tufton said during earthquakes and other natural disasters, it’s normal for people to experience trauma, depression, anxiety and stress.
“We [the Health Minister] will be putting out some advisories from the ministry to identify some of the symptoms of that, which include difficulty breathing, chest and muscle pains, feeling faint, dazed or lightheaded, stomach aches, feeling of anger, anxiety and so on,” he advised.
Tufton also urged people experience symptoms to consult a doctor but cautioned that accident and emergency wards, especially those in urban areas are “mostly full because of other issues.”
Minor damage to health facilities
Meanwhile, the health and wellness minister reported that a fairly extensive assessment has been undertaken of the public health infrastructure in the aftermath of the tremor.
He said the North Eastern, Western and Southern Regional Health Authorities have not suffered much damage to the “hard infrastructure.”
Majority of the facilities that have been inspected remain intact, except for a few; some facilities in St Thomas were closed as a precaution.
In St Catherine, there were a few incidents; an autoclave fell at the Greater Portmore Health Centre and was damaged, there was structural damage at the Waterford and Old Harbour health canters, which require some assessment, and there were minor cracks at the Spanish Town Hospital, but operations were not affected.
