Ferguson … has been under intense pressure since yesterday when he told a press conference that he learned of the problems only on Friday — the same day the story was first reported on Nationwide Radio.
The University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) has taken the blame for failing to tell the Health Ministry about an infectious outbreak at the hospital that resulted in the deaths of several babies.
The Health Minister, Dr Fenton Ferguson, has been under intense pressure since yesterday when he told a press conference that he learned of the problems only on Friday — the same day the story was first reported on Nationwide Radio.
READ: Four months, 18 babies dead and health minister in the dark
According to John Lindo, the acting head of the Department of Microbiology, a timely report would have triggered a series of actions by the Ministry of Health and its international partners including the Caribbean Public Health Agency and the Pan-American Health Organisation.
Eighteen babies have died at the UHWI’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Cornwall Regional Hospital in the past four months because of infections caused by the bacteria — klebsiella and serratia.
Lindo did not say why the issue was not reported to the Health Ministry.
However, he said there were “many” previous cases of infections at the hospital.
I USED TO WORK IN THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY WHEN I LIVED IN NEW YORK WORKED AT ST LUKES ROOSEVELT FOR YEARS, ONE YEAR IN LABOR AND DELIVERY. AND I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF A BACTERIA THAT COULD KILL SO MANY INFANTS AND NO ONE HAS DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THIS IS MORE THAN BACTERIA. A SERIOUS INVESTIGATION NEEDS TO BE DONE BY A INDEPENDENT LAB AND SOME OF THOSE INFANTS NEED TO BE EXHUMED TO BE TESTED. THEY ARE COVERING SOMETHING UP THAT IS POSSIBLY MORE HORRIFYING.
This is why it is nearly impossible for any blame to stick to the PNP. First, dem deny, deny, deny. Dem tell yuh how everything fine and anybody saying anything else is making political mischief. When dem finally get caught in the lie, PNP functionaries come out of the wood work left and right to spin the situation. I couldn’t believe when I heard Dr. Winston Davidson saying people making a mountain out of a mole hill. Mi waan know if eighteen dead and 42 infected is nothing to make a big deal about.
When the denial and the spin doesn’t work, they go back into ancient history to find a similar situation that occurred under the JLP. Doesn’t matter, how different the situation is, they will make some correlation. And finally, when all fails, good comrades will fall on their sword for the party, knowing fully well that when everything dies down they will be fully compensated for their loyalty.