What about these dead babies' parents?

THE EDITOR: Permit me to air my musings, as everyone seems eager to weigh in on this tragedy.

What if it was one of these very parents who are now engaged in legal action who contaminated the neonatal unit at the Port of Spain General Hospital? Don’t they have hands too, or can carry and transmit bacteria?

It is interesting to note that the media release from the NWRHA stated it found three different organisms. By definition, an outbreak should have the same organism, like when covid started and the WHO said it was an outbreak of a virus and then transitioned to a global shutdown – the pandemic.

What if someone from outside the NICU, came in and breached protocols? A parent, a clerk, a whoever visited and didn’t follow the guidelines? The staff can’t watch everyone every minute of every day and I understand parents are even encouraged to hold their babies in the neonatal unit.

What if one or more of these parents, who have now all gathered together to seek legal redress against the State, started this catastrophic event?

Sounds to me like someone contaminated something and the NICU staff and/or parents used it and didn’t know, leading to the spread. Like any contagion, follow the source and you may very well find the answer.

I know some mothers carry harmful bacteria and transfer them to their babies during and/or after delivery.

Maybe that happened here, or at least could have played a role. It’s hard to tell, of course, but all possibilities should be considered. Maybe we should test these parents just to eliminate them as sources – and I mean all of them. Just a thought.

If the pandemic taught us anything, is that there were no medical staff outbreaks of covid, as they know the importance of proper hygiene practices while we out here, well, we let that run wild with our version of hand-washing and mask-wearing.

Maybe we really need to look no further than the visitors to the neonatal unit, especially the ones who are now pointing their fingers at the State.

CHRISTAL DE MILLS

Via e-mail