‘Time for independent commission into maternal deaths’

Dr Lackram Bodoe
Dr Lackram Bodoe

THE unfortunate death of Maquader Martin after giving birth at the San Fernando General Hospital highlights “the fact” that much more work needs to be done says Dr Lackram Bodoe.

The former chairman of the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) said it is important that the SWRHA and the Health Ministry conduct their own investigation to ascertain what went wrong. It is equally important, Bodoe said yesterday, that the public is assured that there is no cover-up as is often alleged by grieving relatives. “One of the mechanisms that can be employed to ensure transparency and gather useful information from every maternal death is the examination of the circumstances of each such event by an independent body,” Bodoe said. Bodoe is also the MP for Fyzabad.

“The intelligence gathered from such enquiries when shared with caregivers and other healthcare providers will enable them to improve their service to the benefit of patients and the nation.”

Martin, 26, who lived at La Romaine, died in the Maternity Ward on Saturday three days after she gave birth to a healthy baby girl at the hospital. Reports are an autopsy found that she died from a pulmonary embolism.

Bodoe said the death of any pregnant woman is a tragedy for both her loved ones and her caregivers.

He recalled that in 2011 subsequent to the death of Crystal Boodoo-Ramsoomair in childbirth, then Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar commissioned a report to review the maternity services in TT.

The Maternity Services Review Committee which was comprised independent, experienced professionals and experts in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology gathered data from healthcare providers throughout the country over an 18-month period. The report of the committee, including its many recommendations, was presented to the Health Minister of the day in May 2013.

“Over the past five years several of the recommendations in this report have been implemented across the nation’s hospitals and this has undoubtedly improved the quality and safety of care for pregnant women and their babies.”

The creation of a Directorate of Women’s Health in 2017 was one of the recommendations coming out of the report, he said.

On Wednesday the SWRHA via a media release offered its condolences to Martin’s relatives.

The release said the death is being investigated with the necessary urgency and in accordance with the relevant protocols and procedures and the findings would be made available to the family.

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