Ministry: PAHO report on babies' deaths will be made public

THE Ministry of Health (MoH) has received the final report from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on the death of seven babies at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Port of Spain General Hospital (PoSGH) between April 2 and 9. The hospital is managed by the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA).

The ministry has also committed to making the report public after the completion of its own internal investigation.

The  NWRHA announced by babies' deaths in a statement on April 11.

The parents of the seven deceased newborns have since retained the services of Freedom Law Chambers led by former attorney general Anand Ramlogan.

Freedom Law Chambers has since issued pre-action protocol letters threatening a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the parents against the State and the NWRHA in relation to those seven deaths and the deaths of several other babies who died at the PoSGH and other public hospitals since 2022.

A June 23 statement from the ministry said the report was delivered by PAHO on June 21.

It said, having received the report, clinical and technical staff of both the MoH and the NWRHA will do an internal review of the findings in keeping with established standard practice.

"Following the completion of the internal review, the entire report as submitted, will be made public."

PAHO, in its own statement on June 23, reiterated it had submitted the report to Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh on June 21.

It added the in-country review was done between April 22 and 26 and "was led by international experts in infection prevention and control, epidemiology, microbiology and newborn intensive care."

Those experts were university professor Dr Nalini Singh, clinical microbiologist Dr Grisel Rodriguez and head of the NICU at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Barbados Dr Gillian Birchwood.

PAHO said, "The review team applied a systematic approach, reviewing the multiple processes and procedures that impact the quality of services."

It said the methodology used included on-site visits, discussions with health-care workers, review and analysis of data, and using standardised and validated questionnaires to deliver evidence-based recommendations.

"Previous to the submission of the final report, the team of international experts provided immediate/short-term, medium and long-term recommendations to senior management representatives of the MoH and the NWRHA on April 26."

PAHO added that the report submitted to the minister also included recommendations.

PAHO said it remained committed to providing ongoing technical support to the MoH, as requested, including facilitating the implementation of the recommendations provided.

The statement concluded, "PAHO/WHO (World Health Organization) routinely conducts assessments of infection prevention control measures and other aspects of health system delivery to assist its member states in enhancing overall health services, based on international standards.

"This continued assistance underscores PAHO/WHO’s dedication to fostering sustainable improvements in health-care delivery and patient outcomes."

Contacted for comment, Ramlogan expressed concern about the method by which PAHO's experts investigated.

He said while PAHO's team members spoke to health-care workers at the hospital, they did not interview the parents of the deceased NICU babies.

"PAHO excluded the grieving mothers from the investigation and did not speak or interview them.

"They spoke only to the medical staff at the hospital, and we are concerned about the potential for bias because you're only hearing one side of the story."

Ramlogan said he hoped the Health Ministry would honour its commitment to making the report public because, "It will be interesting to see what PAHO had to say."

Asked about  plans for further legal action in relation to the babies' deaths, Ramlogan said his team would wait to review PAHO's report before deciding its next move.
(With reporting by Ryan Hamilton-Davis)

Babies who died at the PoSGH NICU between April 2 and 9

NAME OF BABY .................................. PARENTS.....................................DATE OF DEATH

Kae’ Jhene Kerniah Charles..................Shaniya Raymond-Adams/ Kerron Charles........April 6

Crystell Precious Miracle .....................Shirese Moore-Beckles/ Rondell Beckles.........April 6

Aarya Raya Chatergoon........................Danyelle Samaroo/Avinash Chatergoon............April 5

Esme Molino..........................................Jodie Molino/Travis Molino..............................April 4

Amelia Williams....................................Tinelle Saunders/Gus Williams..........................April 2

Romani Williams...................................Shaquille Harry/Kadeem Williams.....................April 6

Skiye Samuel........................................Natasha Samuel/Brent Wilson.............................April 9