NCRHA CEO: Deaths down at Couva with new medical team

North Central Regional Health Authority CEO Davlin Thomas says in the last eight days, since the change of medical personnel, deaths at the Couva hospital have decreased by 60 per cent and increased discharges by 25 per cent.

“The medical team at the Couva Facility has done a phenomenal job. The numbers speak for themselves. The reduction in mortality rate by 60 per cent is exceptional. This experienced and highly qualified multidisciplinary team has also achieved a 25 per cent increase in discharges, with a near full to capacity bed occupancy. I am very pleased with the work and service being offered there. The implications for what we are seeing in the current data is significant and extremely encouraging.”

Couva hospital is one of the main treatment centres for covid patients and the most critical are treated there.

Thomas made the statement in a press release on Friday evening in response to a release by former UNC Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh. In it Gopeesingh called for an independent inquiry and audit into covid19 deaths.

For the month of May, so far, there have been 301 deaths and 12, 177 cases.

Gopeesingh suggested the audit team evaluate if there was any correlation of deaths to the recent transfer of six experienced physicians from the Couva hospital.

Those rotated out of Couva hospital included Dr Don Martin, Medical Chief of Staff at Couva; Dr Arnaz Maccum, Specialist Nephrologist; Dr Sana Mohammed, Specialist Pulmonologist, Consultant; and Dr Kevin Khan Kernagan, head of the intensive care unit (ICU).

Gopeesingh questioned then if the quality of patient care at the Couva Hospital was compromised by the move. And if those who replaced them had the necessary expertise and clinical competence to deal with severely ill patients.

In response to the NCRHA release, Gopeesingh said it was “latest vindictive, false attacks” on senior frontline medical doctors.

He said Thomas’ statements could destabilise the parallel health care workers, and jeopardise both the medical staff and the public’s trust in the system.

He called for the resignation or dismissal of the NCRHA board.

Asked for a response to the NCRHA’s statement, at a press conference on Saturday, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said, “I think that press release is open to all sorts of interpretations.”

CMO Dr Roshan Parasram went on to say the number of deaths in the country remain the same. If a 60 per cent reduction at Couva was true, it could be that there were a greater number of deaths in other institutions but the matter was being looked into.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, TT Registered Nurses Association president, Idi Stuart, questioned the data and implications of Thomas’ statements.

“The implied allegation is that Dr Martin and the other specialist doctors weren't doing a very good job and the nation should be thankful for the CEO's action. That alone is enough to be a depressing inference on any medical practitioner. Fortunately, all of us who have worked with Dr Martin and the other medical professionals, will know their world class capability."

The TT Medical Association in a statement asked that "petty squabbles, politics and prejudices" be left out of the covid19 fight saying that the manipulation of individual statistics to serve a single organisation’s narrative was unconscionable.

It asked if the NCRHA had evidence that the new team brought about the reduction in mortality or if it could have been a combination of factors.

“If the management practices of the CMMF (Couva Facility) have indeed created such results in a matter of eight days, then standardised guidelines involving these same policies should be implemented everywhere to achieve a 60 per cent reduction in mortality for all TT citizens and not just the few who may have the opportunity for admission at CMMF."