Need better particulars about the dead babies
Published:Saturday | November 5, 2022 | 12:07 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
The call by the People’s National Party for Minister of Health and Wellness Christopher Tufton to fully disclose the issues concerning dead babies in the Victoria Jubilee Hospital is valid. It should be addressed as soon as possible, in the interest of transparency and fairness, to reassure the public trust in the ministry. As it now stands, the actions of Minister Tufton, whose ministry has responsibility for health issues, seemed suspect and there is a hovering cloud of doubt over his ministry and his ability to deal with the issue satisfactorily.
The revelation that the minister knew about the bacterial infection from as far back as July is concerning, and his response to this lacked sufficient information to convince that enough was being done to protect the public from exposure.
To exacerbate the situation, the reported scarcity of drugs to deal with the problem or mitigate it, and the lack of specialist nurses, which could have been a contributor that caused the death of the babies, is at best alarming. It also speaks volumes as to the under-preparedness of the Government and the inability of the hospitals to deal with a crisis such as this.
While we recognise that the issue of nurse migration has been a sticking point across administrations, and very little can be done to solve the problem, the issue of sourcing and acquisition of drugs must and should have been dealt with, and should not have been an issue in the first place.
Additionally, we recognise that the issue of accountability might not be any consolation for the parents of these babies who had waited, in most cases, nine months for their little bundles of joy. But it can go a far way to hold our public officials accountable to ensure that these things do not happen again.
ERROL MCLEISH
Greater Portmore
St Catherine