Opposition left dissatisfied amid unanswered questions on newborn deaths

Intense debate on the precise time that Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton was first informed about an outbreak of a bacterial infection at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) ended abruptly on Tuesday in Parliament with Deputy Speaker of the House Juliet Holness ruling that question time had expired.

Opposition leader Mark Golding wanted Tufton to tell the country the exact time he was told about the outbreak that claimed the lives of nine neonates in July this year.

Seven newborns died from Klebsiella pneumoniae and two from Acinetobacter.

“Under your watch in July, there was an outbreak at the premier maternal institution in the country and you are telling this House that you did not know about it until the end of August, in that context, is that what you are saying?” Golding asked.

Responding, the health and wellness minister said: “I am a member of an administration that considers all issues and we act in the best interest of the country and I have always acted in the best interest of the public health of the people of Jamaica.”

Two related deaths were recorded at VJH in August and two in September. 

In a statement to Parliament on the deaths of 13 neonates between July and September, Tufton said that the South East Regional Health Authority discovered a bacterial infection in the neonatal intensive unit in July, which triggered an investigation.

However, Tufton told his parliamentary colleagues that he was briefed on the outbreak in August.

Golding did not relent as he pressed Tufton on the issue. “Minister you have not answered my question. Nine babies died under your watch in July and you are telling me that you did not know about it until the end of August. Are you saying that minister? Tell this House if that is what you are saying?”

Tufton's response was terse: “I think I have responded to the member.”

The Opposition leader insisted that the minister should answer his question but the deputy speaker intervened saying the time for fielding questions was complete.

She instructed members of the Opposition to table further questions for responses from Tufton.

Leader of Opposition Business Phillip Paulwell disagreed with the deputy speaker's ruling saying that “the House cannot be conducted this way".

“I want to understand on what basis a time has been set and what's the time the Speaker has established for this period because this matter is one of national importance and it can't be left to the Speaker's sole discretion,” he added.

Opposition spokesman on health Dr Morais Guy who had quizzed Tufton earlier on when he first knew about the bacterial outbreak at VJH, said he would have expected the technocrats to inform the minister expeditiously if they “held him in high regard”.

Guy indicated that the minister's claim that if he had revealed the information it would cause panic “robbed the pregnant mothers of the choice to go and deliver elsewhere in other hospitals in the hope that they would have a living baby to take home with them after they gave birth”.

The Opposition leader sought permission to ask another question but this was disallowed by the speaker.

The Gleaner contacted Golding to find out the question he wanted to pose which was not allowed.

Golding said his final question would have been: “How could the babies' deaths in this outbreak be styled as a 'normal statistic' (as he described them) when his statement indicated that the causes of the outbreak include - (i) the re-use of single-use items, and (ii) a failure to implement adequate supervised cleaning and disinfecting activities?"

Meanwhile, Tufton said that there was no outbreak of Klebsiella pneumoniae at the Spanish Town Hospital as suggested by his Opposition counterpart.

He expressed condolences to the families and loved ones of the babies who died as a result of the bacterial infection.

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