ERHA opens Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

THE opening of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Sangre Grande Hospital could help save the lives of babies needing neonatal care without them having to endure hours in transfer to other hospitals equipped to provide such care.

Between 1,400 and 1,700 babies are delivered every year at this hospital and 29 neonatal transfers are made to the Port of Spain General Hospital and San Fernando General Hospital for respiratory support.

The first first few hours after birth are especially critical for premature babies or any newborn with respiratory problems. By the time a baby reaches PoS General or San Fernando General, in such a condition, the prognosis is usually not good. A UNICEF 2018 report said TT has the highest Neonatal Mortality Rate for a high income country (12.6 per 1,000 live births). Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG) state that by 2030, neonatal mortality must be less than nine per 1,000 live births.

The opening of the NICU has accomplished all four UNICEF objectives at the regional level for improving neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Ventilators, essential equipment for treating neonates with respiratory complications, were commissioned on May 7, this year, and according to neonatologist Dr Marlon Timothy, the lives of three babies were saved so far. The NICU would be fully operational by January with one Intensive Care bed introduced one at a time from September, with continued support for High Dependency Unit/Kangaroo Care beds.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said TT was joining some of the more advanced countries in the world on maternal mortality.

He said developed country status showed that this country should have a figure of 12 maternal mortalities for 100,000 live births per year.

In TT where we have 16,000-17,000 live births annually, he said we should not have more than three-five maternal mortalities per year. In trying to keep down the infant mortality rate, Deyalsingh said they bought specialised transporters which saved the lives of many babies in 2017.