WITH hundreds of medically discharged patients continuing to occupy public hospital beds across Jamaica, Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says the Government is looking at the law to determine how relatives who abandon loved ones in hospital can be held accountable.

He also revealed that some relatives continue to live in homes owned by the very people they have neglected.

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer after last Thursday’s Health Hurricane Response Programme (HHRP) working breakfast, Tufton said social cases currently account for between five and 10 per cent of the country’s roughly 4,000 public hospital beds.